WDR44

Downstream effector for Rab11 which regulates Rab11 intracellular membrane trafficking functions such as endocytic recycling, intracellular ciliogenesis and protein export. ATK1-mediated phosphorylation of WDR44 induces binding to Rab11 which activates endocytic recycling of transferrin receptor back to the plasma membrane. When bound to Rab11, prevents the formation of the ciliogenic Rab11-Rabin8/RAB3IP-RAB11FIP3 complex, therefore inhibiting preciliary trafficking and ciliogenesis. Participates in neo-synthesized protein export by connecting the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) with the endosomal tubule via direct interactions with the integral ER proteins VAPA or VAPB and the endosomal protein GRAFs (GRAF1/ARHGAP26 or GRAF2/ARHGAP10), which facilitates the transfer of proteins such as E-cadherin, MPP14 and CFTR into a Rab8-Rab10-Rab11-dependent export route..

Function from UniProtKB (Q5JSH3), read 2026-09-23. CC BY 4.0.