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10 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 14 days ago
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KIFC3
kinesin family member C3
Chromosome 16 · 16q21
NCBI Gene: 3801Ensembl: ENSG00000140859.16HGNC: HGNC:6326UniProt: B7Z5U4
55PubMed Papers
20Diseases
0Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
mitochondrioncentrosomeextracellular exosomeprotein bindingmicrolissencephalyneurodegenerative diseasegenetic disordernon-small cell lung carcinoma
✦AI Summary

KIFC3 is a minus-end-directed microtubule motor protein with critical roles in cellular homeostasis and disease pathogenesis. As a C-terminal kinesin family member, KIFC3 functions in microtubule-based transport processes and is abundantly expressed in retina, retinal pigment epithelium, kidney, and lung 1. Mechanistically, KIFC3 mediates several distinct cellular processes. It participates in DNA damage repair by reversing DNA double-strand break-capturing nuclear envelope tubules (dsbNETs) through collaboration with DDR machinery and other kinesins 2. KIFC3 is recruited to polyglutamylated nucleus-to-cilium microtubule arrays (sinc-MTs) and interacts with centrosomal protein CENEXIN1 to facilitate FBF1 translocation to PML-NBs, a prerequisite for senescence induction in mammalian cells 3. Clinically, KIFC3 dysregulation is associated with multiple malignancies. KIFC3 is significantly upregulated in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastric cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer, correlating with poor prognosis [PMID:36051093; 4; 5; 6; 77]. In these cancers, KIFC3 promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion through activation of multiple signaling pathways including β-catenin, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, and Notch1 signaling. These findings position KIFC3 as a potential therapeutic target for cancer treatment.

Sources cited
1
KIFC3 is a C-terminal kinesin approximately 80 kDa in size, abundantly expressed in human retina, RPE, kidney, and lung; maps to chromosome 16q13-q21
PMID: 9782090
2
KIFC3 kinesin reverses DSB-capturing nuclear envelope tubules and collaborates with other kinesins in DNA damage repair responses
PMID: 38632359
3
KIFC3 is a minus-end-directed kinesin recruited to polyglutamylated sinc-MTs, interacts with CENEXIN1, and is required for FBF1 translocation and senescence initiation
PMID: 39266565
4
KIFC3 is upregulated in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and promotes proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT via β-catenin signaling; overexpression associates with poor prognosis
PMID: 36051093
5
KIFC3 is upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma and promotes cancer progression through PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway; high expression correlates with poor survival
PMID: 36948354
6
KIFC3 is upregulated in gastric cancer and promotes progression and metastasis through Notch1 pathway activation; correlates with advanced T stage and poor prognosis
PMID: 36890049
7
KIFC3 is markedly increased in non-small cell lung cancer and promotes proliferation, invasion, and migration through PI3K/Akt pathway inhibition
PMID: 39390964
8
KIFC3 is highly expressed in NSCLC tissues, correlates with differentiation degree, tumor size, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage; interacts with PI3Kp85α to promote malignant behavior
PMID: 39227687
Disease Associationsⓘ20
microlissencephalyOpen Targets
0.43Moderate
neurodegenerative diseaseOpen Targets
0.37Weak
genetic disorderOpen Targets
0.18Weak
non-small cell lung carcinomaOpen Targets
0.09Suggestive
colorectal carcinomaOpen Targets
0.09Suggestive
Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophyOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
esophageal squamous cell carcinomaOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy of corneaOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
keratoconus 5Open Targets
0.07Suggestive
Lisch epithelial corneal dystrophyOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
keratoconus 1Open Targets
0.06Suggestive
posterior polymorphous corneal dystrophyOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
corneal endothelial dystrophyOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
Central cloudy dystrophy of FrancoisOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
central cloudy dystrophy of FrançoisOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
Schnyder corneal dystrophyOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
X-linked endothelial corneal dystrophyOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
keratoconus 9Open Targets
0.06Suggestive
corneal dystrophy, punctiform and polychromatic pre-descemetOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
X-linked corneal dermoidOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Related Genes
PLEKHA7Protein interaction99%CAMSAP3Protein interaction98%KIF11Protein interaction90%CEP170Protein interaction90%KIF20AProtein interaction84%KIF3BProtein interaction78%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Liver
100%
Heart
52%
Lung
51%
Brain
28%
Ovary
26%
Bone Marrow
8%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
KIFC3PLEKHA7CAMSAP3KIF11CEP170KIF20AKIF3B
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
Preparing viewer…
PDB5WDE · 1.85 Å · X-ray
View on RCSB ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
0.80LoF Tolerant
pLIⓘ
0.00Tolerant
Observed/Expected LoF0.64 [0.52–0.80]
RankingsWhere KIFC3 stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #8,209of 20,598
    Most Researched55
  • #6,595of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)0.80
Genes detectedKIFC3
Sources retrieved10 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
10▼
1
DNA double-strand break-capturing nuclear envelope tubules drive DNA repair.
PMID: 38632359
Nat Struct Mol Biol · 2024
1.00
2
KIFC3 promotes proliferation, migration and invasion of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells by activating EMT and β-catenin signaling.
PMID: 36051093
World J Gastrointest Oncol · 2022
0.90
3
Transiently formed nucleus-to-cilium microtubule arrays mediate senescence initiation in a KIFC3-dependent manner.
PMID: 39266565
Nat Commun · 2024
0.80
4
Cloning of a novel C-terminal kinesin (KIFC3) that maps to human chromosome 16q13-q21 and thus is a candidate gene for Bardet-Biedl syndrome.
PMID: 9782090
Genomics · 1998
0.70
5
KIFC3 regulates progression of hepatocellular carcinoma via EMT and the AKT/mTOR pathway.
PMID: 36948354
Exp Cell Res · 2023
0.60