Engulfment And Cell Motility 3 (ELMO3)

Engulfment and cell motility 3 is similar to a C. elegans protein that functions in phagocytosis of apoptotic cells and in cell migration. Other members of this small family of engulfment and cell motility (ELMO) proteins have been shown to interact with the dedicator of cyto-kinesis 1 (DOCK1) protein to promote phagocytosis and effect cell shape changes.

The C. elegans genes Ced2, Ced5, and Ced10 and their mammalian homologs CRKII, DOCK180, and RAC1, respectively, mediate cytoskeletal rearrangements during phagocytosis of apoptotic cells and cell motility. Ced12, an additional member of the C. elegans signaling pathway, and mouse and human Ced12 homologs, which they termed ELMO1, ELMO2, and ELMO3.