Acts both as a substrate recognition component of E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complexes and as an atypical serine/threonine-protein kinase, playing key roles in various processes such as cell cycle, telomerase regulation and histone modification. Probable substrate-specific adapter of a DCX (DDB1-CUL4-X-box) E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complex, named CUL4A-RBX1-DDB1-DCAF1/VPRBP complex, which mediates ubiquitination and proteasome-dependent degradation of proteins such as NF2. Involved in the turnover of methylated proteins: recognizes and binds methylated proteins via its chromo domain, leading to ubiquitination of target proteins by the RBX1-DDB1-DCAF1/VPRBP complex . The CUL4A-RBX1-DDB1-DCAF1/VPRBP complex is also involved in B-cell development: DCAF1 is recruited by RAG1 to ubiquitinate proteins, leading to limit error-prone repair during V(D)J recombination. Also part of the EDVP complex, an E3 ligase complex that mediates ubiquitination of proteins such as TERT, leading to TERT degradation and telomerase inhibition . Also acts as an atypical serine/threonine-protein kinase that specifically mediates phosphorylation of 'Thr-120' of histone H2A (H2AT120ph) in a nucleosomal context, thereby repressing transcription. H2AT120ph is present in the regulatory region of many tumor suppresor genes, down-regulates their transcription and is present at high level in a number of tumors . Involved in JNK-mediated apoptosis during cell competition process via its interaction with LLGL1 and LLGL2 . By acting on TET dioxygenses, essential for oocyte maintenance at the primordial follicle stage, hence essential for female fertility (By similarity).
(Microbial infection) In case of infection by HIV-1 virus, it is recruited by HIV-1 Vpr in order to hijack the CUL4A-RBX1-DDB1-DCAF1/VPRBP function leading to arrest the cell cycle in G2 phase, and also to protect the viral protein from proteasomal degradation by another E3 ubiquitin ligase. The HIV-1 Vpr protein hijacks the CUL4A-RBX1-DDB1-DCAF1/VPRBP complex to promote ubiquitination and degradation of proteins such as TERT and ZIP/ZGPAT.
(Microbial infection) In case of infection by HIV-2 virus, it is recruited by HIV-2 Vpx in order to hijack the CUL4A-RBX1-DDB1-DCAF1/VPRBP function leading to enhanced efficiency of macrophage infection and promotion of the replication of cognate primate lentiviruses in cells of monocyte/macrophage lineage.
Subcellular locations: Cytoplasm, Nucleus
Associated with chromatin in a DDB1-independent and cell cycle-dependent manner: recruited to chromatin as DNA is being replicated and is released from chromatin before mitosis. Homogenous pancellular distribution is observed outside S-phase and a slight cytoplasmic-to-nuclear translocation from early to late S-phase. Colocalizes with TET1 and PCNA at replicating heterochromatin during late S phase (By similarity). More concentrated in nuclei than in cytoplasm in germinal vesicle (GV) stage oocytes, zygotes and the 2-cell stage, but distributed in the cytoplasm at the MII-stage oocytes (By similarity).
Ubiquitously expressed.