The 14-3-3 proteins are a family of proteins involved in the regulation of apoptosis, mitogenic signaling and cell-cycle checkpoints. The 14-3-3 proteins are thought to be key regulators of signal transduction events mediated through their binding to serine-phosphorylated proteins. Through binding Bad, 14-3-3 prevents apoptosis by sequestering Bad to the cytosol. The 14-3-3 proteins are also Adapter protein implicated in the regulation of a large spectrum of both general and specialized signaling pathway. They bind to a large number of partners, usually by recognition of a phosphoserine or phosphothreonine motif. Binding generally results in the modulation of the activity of the binding partner.
