Tetraspanins are a superfamily conserved membrane proteins with four transmembrane spanning domains [2,6], with 33 tetraspanin genes identified in the human genome. They are considered to be modulators (or facilitators) of cellular signalling and play significant roles in multiple biological processes [4].

* Key recommended reading is highlighted with an asterisk

* Beckwith KA, Byrd JC, Muthusamy N. (2015) Tetraspanins as therapeutic targets in hematological malignancy: a concise review. Front Physiol, 6: 91. [PMID:25852576]

* Charrin S, Jouannet S, Boucheix C, Rubinstein E. (2014) Tetraspanins at a glance. J Cell Sci, 127 (Pt 17): 3641-8. [PMID:25128561]

* Robert JH, Amoussou NG, Mai HL, Logé C, Brouard S. (2021) Tetraspanins: useful multifunction proteins for the possible design and development of small-molecule therapeutic tools. Drug Discov Today, 26 (1): 56-68. [PMID:33137483]

1. Charrin S, le Naour F, Silvie O, Milhiet PE, Boucheix C, Rubinstein E. (2009) Lateral organization of membrane proteins: tetraspanins spin their web. Biochem J, 420 (2): 133-54. [PMID:19426143]

2. Hemler ME. (2005) Tetraspanin functions and associated microdomains. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol, 6 (10): 801-11. [PMID:16314869]

3. Levy S, Shoham T. (2005) The tetraspanin web modulates immune-signalling complexes. Nat Rev Immunol, 5 (2): 136-48. [PMID:15688041]

4. Maecker HT, Todd SC, Levy S. (1997) The tetraspanin superfamily: molecular facilitators. FASEB J, 11 (6): 428-42. [PMID:9194523]

5. van Deventer SJ, Dunlock VE, van Spriel AB. (2017) Molecular interactions shaping the tetraspanin web. Biochem Soc Trans, 45 (3): 741-750. [PMID:28620035]

6. Wright MD, Tomlinson MG. (1994) The ins and outs of the transmembrane 4 superfamily. Immunol Today, 15 (12): 588-94. [PMID:7531445]