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10 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 14 days ago
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CLIC3
chloride intracellular channel 3
Chromosome 9 · 9q34.3
NCBI Gene: 9022Ensembl: ENSG00000169583.14HGNC: HGNC:2064UniProt: O95833
31PubMed Papers
20Diseases
0Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
FUNCTIONAL ROLE
Ion ChannelTransporter
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
chloride channel activityprotein bindingprotein-disulfide reductase (glutathione) activitychloride transportpuerperal disordercancerurinary bladder carcinomabreast cancer
✦AI Summary

CLIC3 (chloride intracellular channel 3) is a multifunctional protein with dual roles as both an ion channel and a glutathione-dependent oxidoreductase. In its soluble state, CLIC3 catalyzes thiol-disulfide exchange reactions and is secreted into the extracellular matrix where it activates transglutaminase-2 (TGM2) by reducing specific cysteines, promoting angiogenesis and blood vessel growth 1. CLIC3 can insert into membranes to form chloride ion channels regulating cellular chloride concentration and cell volume 2. CLIC3 drives cancer progression through multiple mechanisms: it regulates recycling of invasive cargo including α5β1 integrin and MT1-MMP from late endosomes to the plasma membrane, facilitating cancer cell invasion and metastasis 34. In bladder cancer, CLIC3 interacts with NAT10 to inhibit N4-acetylcytidine modification of p21 mRNA, reducing p21 expression and promoting proliferation 5. CLIC3 also mediates fibroblast cellular senescence through ERK7 interaction, regulating chloride homeostasis and mitochondrial function 6. Clinically, elevated CLIC3 expression correlates with poor prognosis in pancreatic, ovarian, and breast cancers 314. CLIC3 is increased in placental complications including fetal growth restriction and pre-eclampsia 2, and identified as a risk factor for proliferative diabetic retinopathy 7.

Sources cited
1
Secreted CLIC3 acts as glutathione-dependent oxidoreductase that reduces TGM2 to promote angiogenesis and cancer progression
PMID: 28198360
2
CLIC3 promotes bladder cancer progression by interacting with NAT10 to inhibit p21 mRNA ac4C modification
PMID: 38182571
3
CLIC3 is a chloride intracellular channel protein with GST superfamily membership; increased in placental complications
PMID: 22795578
4
CLIC3 identified as risk factor for proliferative diabetic retinopathy in NET-related gene analysis
PMID: 39483475
5
CLIC3 controls recycling of MT1-MMP from late endosomes and dictates breast cancer invasion and metastasis
PMID: 25015290
6
CLIC3 mediates fibroblast cellular senescence through ERK7 interaction and regulates chloride ion homeostasis
PMID: 39809890
7
CLIC3 regulates α5β1 integrin recycling from late endosomes/lysosomes and predicts poor prognosis in pancreatic cancer
PMID: 22197222
Disease Associationsⓘ20
puerperal disorderOpen Targets
0.09Suggestive
cancerOpen Targets
0.09Suggestive
urinary bladder carcinomaOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
breast cancerOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
gastric cancerOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
triple-negative breast cancerOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
schizophreniaOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
neoplasmOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
esophageal squamous cell carcinomaOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
skin diseaseOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
Duane retraction syndromeOpen Targets
0.03Suggestive
non-small cell lung carcinomaOpen Targets
0.03Suggestive
oral squamous cell carcinomaOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
ovarian cancerOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
malignant pleural mesotheliomaOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
prostate carcinomaOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
lung adenocarcinomaOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
ovarian neoplasmOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
myxosarcomaOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
atrial fibrillationOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Related Genes
MAPK15Protein interaction98%PACC1Shared pathway67%CLCN1Shared pathway50%BSNDShared pathway50%CLCA4Shared pathway50%CLCA2Shared pathway50%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Lung
100%
Bone Marrow
8%
Heart
5%
Liver
4%
Brain
2%
Ovary
1%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
CLIC3MAPK15PACC1CLCN1BSNDCLCA4CLCA2
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
Preparing viewer…
PDB3FY7 · 1.95 Å · X-ray
View on RCSB ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
1.90LoF Tolerant
pLIⓘ
0.00Tolerant
Observed/Expected LoF1.51 [1.12–1.90]
RankingsWhere CLIC3 stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #11,685of 20,598
    Most Researched31
  • #17,284of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)1.90
Genes detectedCLIC3
Sources retrieved10 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
10▼
1
Secreted CLIC3 drives cancer progression through its glutathione-dependent oxidoreductase activity.
PMID: 28198360
Nat Commun · 2017
1.00
2
CLIC3 interacts with NAT10 to inhibit N4-acetylcytidine modification of p21 mRNA and promote bladder cancer progression.
PMID: 38182571
Cell Death Dis · 2024
0.90
3
Placental CLIC3 is increased in fetal growth restriction and pre-eclampsia affected human pregnancies.
PMID: 22795578
Placenta · 2012
0.80
4
Transcriptome sequencing and Mendelian randomization analysis identified biomarkers related to neutrophil extracellular traps in diabetic retinopathy.
PMID: 39483475
Front Immunol · 2024
0.70
5
CLIC3 controls recycling of late endosomal MT1-MMP and dictates invasion and metastasis in breast cancer.
PMID: 25015290
J Cell Sci · 2014
0.60