Cep44 is a protein-coding gene. It has crucial functions in centrosome-related processes. Centrosomes are essential for microtubule organization and duplicate once per cell cycle. Cep44 is involved in pathways related to centrosome cohesion and centriole-to-centrosome conversion, which are of great biological importance for cell division and maintaining cell structure [1,2].

In human cells, Cep44 localizes to the proximal end of centrioles. Its ablation leads to loss of centrosome cohesion as it associates with rootletin and regulates its stability and localization to the centrosome [1]. Depletion of Cep44 affects centriole structure and centriole-to-centrosome conversion, despite CEP295 binding to centrioles. This indicates that Cep44 is necessary for the proper formation of the centriole wall, which is a requirement for centriole-to-centrosome conversion [2].

In conclusion, Cep44 plays essential roles in centrosome cohesion and centriole-to-centrosome conversion. These functions are crucial for normal cell division processes. Understanding Cep44's functions through model-based research, especially in relation to centrosome-related mechanisms, may provide insights into potential disease mechanisms associated with abnormal cell division, although no direct disease-specific associations from knockout models were given in the provided references [1,2].