Protein Delta Homolog 1 (DLK-1) is a transmembrane protein which contains a signal peptide, an extracellular domain with six tandem epidermai growth factor (EGF)-like domains, a single pass transmembrane domain, and a short cytoplasmic tail. It is found within the stromal cells in close contact to the vascular structure of placental villi, yolk sac, fetal liver, adrenal cortex and pancreas and in the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the adult pancreas. In addition, it is detected in some forms of neuroendocrine lung tumor tissue. DLK-1 may have a improtant role in neuroendocrine differentiation.
DnaJ Homolog Subfamily B Member 1 (DNAJB1) is a member of the heat shock protein family. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are a highly conserved family of stress response proteins. HSPs function primarily as molecular chaperones, facilitating the folding of other cellular proteins, preventing protein aggregation, or targeting improperly folded proteins to specific degradative pathways. DNAJB1 regulates cellular processes by aiding in the folding, transport and assembly. DNAJB1 contains a J-domain which controls interaction with the ATPase domain of DnaK. DNAJB1 interacts with HSP70 and can stimulate its ATPase activity. In addition, DNAJB1 stimulates the association between HSC70 and HIP.