Enables protein kinase binding activity. Involved in cellular response to zinc ion; positive regulation of Ras protein signal transduction; and positive regulation of vulval development. Located in basolateral plasma membrane. Is expressed in several structures, including P5.p hermaphrodite; P6.p hermaphrodite; P7.p hermaphrodite; rectal valve cell; and vulval cell. Human ortholog(s) of this gene implicated in hypermanganesemia with dystonia 1. Orthologous to several human genes including SLC30A1 (solute carrier family 30 member 1).
WB Description
cdf-1 encodes a protein similar to members of the cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) family of transmembrane proteins and is most similar to vertebrate ZnT-1; two other elegans CDF proteins, cdf-2 and sur-7 have also been identified; CDF proteins regulate the transport of heavy metal ions like zinc; cdf-1 positively regulates Ras-mediated signaling during vulval development, most likely by promoting the efflux of zinc ions, as cytosolic zinc inhibits Ras signaling; cdf-1 mutants are hypersensitive to zinc but not other heavy metals tested, indicating that cdf-1 is specifically involved in regulating zinc metabolism; cdf-1 is expressed in the vulval muscles, the intestinal cells, and in the vulval precursor cells and localizes to the plasma membrane.