My bio major friends kept talking abt it and when I asked, they used a whole bunch of terminology that I couldn’t understand so here I am.
In: 3
It’s a protein that plays various roles in cell cycle control and some developmental processes. There are many others like it, and nothing too crazy about this one in particular.
You’d probably be better off asking your friends why they’re so into it, without the jargon… though when you ask about specific things like these, you can’t go very far without getting specific about the answers, too.
Assuming that this is [the correct SEPTIN7](https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q16181/entry), then, I’ll explain the description found at UniProt (an important protein database) as best I can:
* Filament-forming cytoskeletal GTPase.
* The [cytoskeleton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytoskeleton) is a skeleton for your cells. (Cyto means cell.) It’s a network of proteins that gives the cell its shape.
* Each filament is basically a “bone” in the cytoskeleton. A bunch of proteins link together to form a filament. This protein is one of them.
* A GTPase is a protein that burns GTP. GTP is one of the chemicals that are used to provide power to proteins.
* Required for normal organization of the actin cytoskeleton.
* Actin filaments are one of the filament types.
* Filaments perform the same role as bones, but they’re very different. Filaments get created and broken down as needed. Apparently they don’t organize properly without Septin7.
* Required for normal progress through mitosis.
* Mitosis is the process of cell division. It uses filaments to help manage the way the cell splits apart. It makes sense that a protein required for the cytoskeleton, is required for mitosis.
* Involved in cytokinesis.
* Cytokinesis is one of the steps in mitosis. It’s the final splitting of the cell.
* Required for normal association of CENPE with the kinetochore.
* So when cells split, they have to divide the genome in half. Specifically, they have to divide each individual chromosome in half.
* The kinetochore is a protein structure that helps pull the chromosomes apart, and the [CENPE](https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q02224/entry) is one of the important proteins that does the pulling step.
* Apparently Septin7 is necessary for CENPE to do its job.
* Plays a role in ciliogenesis and collective cell movements.
* Ciliogenesis refers to cilia. Cilia are the little hairs on cells that beat to help cells move.
* Ciliogenesis is the process where cilia get created. Apparently Septin7 plays a role in that too.
* Forms a filamentous structure with SEPTIN12, SEPTIN6, SEPTIN2 and probably SEPTIN4 at the sperm annulus which is required for the structural integrity and motility of the sperm tail during postmeiotic differentiation.
* The tail of the sperm is what helps it move. The annulus is a part of the sperm at the base of the tail, so the annulus is necessary for proper function of the sperm’s tail.
* Specifically, sperm moves by using cytoskeleton components. Septin7 is one of the cytoskeleton components.
* So it makes sense that Septin7 would be required for sperm motility.
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