Death-associated protein 3 in cell death and beyond

Death-associated protein 3 (DAP3) is a highly conserved guanosine triphosphate (GTP) binding protein. As a component of the mitochondrial ribosome 28 S small subunit, DAP3 is involved in apoptosis pathways and plays a vital role in mitochondrial dynamics, mitochondrial protein synthesis, anoikis, and autophagy. Recently, DAP3 has been reported to participate in the development and progression of various cancers. In this review, we provide a brief overview of recent findings regarding the structure, subcellular localization, and function of DAP3 as well as its role in cancer development and progression.