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Tumor necrosis factor is a cytokine involved in systemic inflammation and is a member of a group of cytokines that all stimulate the acute phase reaction. TNF is mainly secreted by macrophages.
TNF causes apoptotic cell death, cellular proliferation, differentiation, inflammation, tumorigenesis and viral replication, TNF is also involved in lipid metabolism, and coagulation. TNF's primary role is in the regulation of immune cells.
Dysregulation and, in particular, overproduction of TNF have been implicated in a variety of human diseases- autoimmune diseases, insulin resistance, and cancer.

Vascular endothelial growth factoris an important signaling proteininvolved in both vasculogenesisand angiogenesis. As its name implies, VEGF activity has been mostly studied on cells of the vascular endothelium, although it does have effects on a number of other cell types (e.g. stimulation monocyte/macrophagemigration, neurons, cancer cells, kidney epithelial cells ).VEGF mediates increased vascular permeability, induces angiogenesis, vasculogenesis and endothelial cell growth, promotes cell migration, and inhibits apoptosis. In vitro, VEGF has been shown to stimulate endothelial cell mitogenesisand cell migration. VEGF is also a vasodilator and increases microvascular permeability and was originally referred to as vascular permeability factor.
Elevated levels of this protein is linked to POEMS syndrome, also known as Crow-Fukase syndrome. Mutations in this gene have been associated with proliferative and nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy.

A 16-kDa peptide hormone secreted from white adipocytes and implicated in the regulation of food intake and energy balance. Leptin provides the key afferent signal from fat cells in the feedback system that controls body fat stores.

Active IL-12 is a p70 disulphide-linked dimer composed of p35 and p40 subunits. The protein is a pleiotropic cytokine produced primarily by antigen presenting cells and has multiple effects on T lymphocytes and natural killer cells in terms of stimulating cytotoxicity, proliferation, production of other cytokines and Th1 subset differentiation.

A 16-kDa peptide hormone secreted from white adipocytes and implicated in the regulation of food intake and energy balance. Leptin provides the key afferent signal from fat cells in the feedback system that controls body fat stores.

ATPaseTransporting Beta 2 (ATP1B2) is the non-catalytic component of the active enzyme, which catalyzes the hydrolysis of ATP coupled with the exchange of Na+ and K+ ions across the plasma membrane. The precise function of the beta-2 subunit is not known. The ATP1B2 protein is composed of 3 subunits: alpha (catalytic), beta and gamma.

ATPaseTransporting Beta 2 (ATP1B2) is the non-catalytic component of the active enzyme, which catalyzes the hydrolysis of ATP coupled with the exchange of Na+ and K+ ions across the plasma membrane. The precise function of the beta-2 subunit is not known. The ATP1B2 protein is composed of 3 subunits: alpha (catalytic), beta and gamma.

NAPA is part of the SNAP (Soluble NSF Attachment Protein) family. SNAPs, acting together with SNAREs (SNAP receptors) and the N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein (NSF), are necessary for the fusion of transport vesicles to their objective membranes in synaptic transmission, intra-Golgi transport, endosome-to-endosome fusion and transcytotic vesicles-to-plasma membrane transport. NAPA is in charge of the binding of NSF and therefore the formation of a 20S fusion particle.

IL12B is a subunit of interleukin 12 which is a cytokine that acts on T and natural killer cells, and has a broad array of biological activities. Interleukin 12 is a disulfide-linked heterodimer composed of the 40kDa cytokine receptor like subunit encoded by the IL12B gene, and a 35kDa subunit encoded by IL12A. The IL12B cytokine is expressed by activated macrophages which serve as an important inducer of Th1 cells development. The IL12B cytokine has been found to be important for sustaining a sufficient number of memory/effector Th1 cells to mediate long-term protection to an intracellular pathogen. Overexpression of the IL12B gene was observed in the central nervous system of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), suggesting a role of the IL12B cytokine in the pathogenesis of the disease. The promoter polymorphism of the IL12B gene has been reported to be linked to the severity of atopic and non-atopic asthma in children.

IL23 is composed of a subunit of the heterodimeric cytokine IL23 and the p40 subunit of interleukin 12 (IL12B). Interleukin-23 (IL-23) belongs to the IL-12 family and is produced by antigen presenting cells. IL-23 using IL12RB1 and IL-23R (specific for IL-23) can activate STAT and NF-kB pathways and stimulate the production of interferon-gamma. ). IL-23 is known to take a vital part in the inflammation process and is associated with auto immune diseases. However, unlike IL12, which acts primarily on naive CD4(+) T cells, IL23 preferentially acts on memory CD4(+) T cells.

ARF1 is a small guanine nucleotide-binding protein that increases the enzymatic activities of cholera toxin. ARF1 is necessary and ubiquitous in eukaryotes. ARF1 takes part in vesicular transport and functioning via phospholipase D activation. ARF1 is involved in membrane traffic and organelle integrity which are closely tied to their reversible association with membranes and distinct interactions with membrane phospholipids.

Osteopontin is a glycoprotein that was first identified in osteoblasts and is involved in bone remodeling, immune functions in fibroblasts, macrophages, and lymphocytes during inflammation and wound healing. SPP1 binds tightly to hydroxyapatite. SPP1 forms an integral part of the mineralized matrix. SPP1 is vital to cell-matrix interaction. Secreted Phosphoprotein-1 protects against cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury via late preconditioning. Expression of both Ostepontin and CD44 in hepatocellular carcinoma is linked with advanced tumor stage and contributes to prognosis information. SPP1 is the most over-expressed gene in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Secreted Phosphoprotein-1 overexpression is related with interstitial lung diseases.

Active IL-12 is a p70 disulphide-linked dimer composed of p35 and p40 subunits. The protein is a pleiotropic cytokine produced primarily by antigen presenting cells and has multiple effects on T lymphocytes and natural killer cells in terms of stimulating cytotoxicity, proliferation, production of other cytokines and Th1 subset differentiation.

interleukin 12 subunit beta/alpha or IL12b/IL12a is a growth factor cytokine which increases the lytic activity of NK/lymphokine-activated killer cells, activated T and NK cells and prompt IFN-gamma production (through resting PBMC). IL12b/IL12a is an essential part to the process of cellular-immunity and activates the differentiation of Th1 cells originates from the precursor T helper cells. The protein is linked to IL23A and creates the IL-23 interleukin, by that, the autoimmune inflammation is induced and autoimmune inflammatory diseases and tumorigenesis are being affected.

Members of the Interferon regulatory factor (IRF) family regulate gene expression critical to immune response, hemopoiesis, and proliferation. IRF-3 is a member of the IRF family, and is distinct from other family members. Its transcriptional activity is regulated solely by posttranslational modifications. It plays a crucial role in activation of innate immunity and inflammation in response to viral infection. IRF-3 mediates interferon-stimulated response element (isre) promoter activation. Functions as a molecular switch for antiviral activity. Dsrna generated during the course of an viral infection leads to IRF3 phosphorylation on the c-terminal serine/threonine cluster. This induces a conformational change, leading to its dimerization, nuclear localization and association with creb binding protein (crebbp) to form dsrna-activated factor 1 (draf1), a complex which activates the transcription of genes under the control of isre. The complex binds to the ie and prdiii regions on the ifn

IL-7 is a cytokine important for B and T cell development. This cytokine and the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) form a heterodimer that functions as a pre-pro-B cell growth-stimulating factor. This cytokine is found to be a cofactor for V(D)J rearrangement of the T cell receptor beta (TCRB) during early T cell development. This cytokine can be produced locally by intestinal epithelial and epithelial goblet cells, and may serve as a regulatory factor for intestinal mucosal lymphocytes. Knockout studies in mice suggested that this cytokine plays an essential role in lymphoid cell survival.

IL-12 is a heterodimeric cytokine that stimulates the production of interferon gamma from T-cells and natural killer cells, and also induces differentiation of Th1 helper cells. IL-12 is an initiator of cell-mediated immunity.

FEN1 removes 5'' overhanging flaps in DNA repair and processes the 5'' ends of Okazaki fragments in lagging strand DNA synthesis. The interaction between FEN1 and AP endonuclease 1 during long-patch base excision repair provides coordinated loading of the proteins onto the substrate, therefore passing the substrate from one enzyme to another. FEN1 is part of the XPG/RAD2 endonuclease family and is one of ten proteins essential for cell-free DNA replication. DNA secondary structure can inhibit flap processing at certain trinucleotide repeats in a length-dependent manner by concealing the 5'' end of the flap that is necessary for both binding and cleavage by the protein encoded by this gene. Therefore, secondary structure can deter the protective function of this protein, leading to site-specific trinucleotide expansions.

HCV is a small 50nm, enveloped, single-stranded, positive sense RNAvirus in the family Flaviviridae.
HCV has a high rate of replication with approximately one trillion particles produced each day in an infected individual. Due to lack of proofreading by the HCV RNA polymerase, the HCV has an exceptionally high mutation rate, a factor that may help it elude the host's immune response. Hepatitis C virus is classified into six genotypes(1-6) with several subtypes within each genotype. The preponderance and distribution of HCV genotypes varies globally. Genotype is clinically important in determining potential response to interferon-based therapy and the required duration of such therapy. Genotypes 1 and 4 are less responsive to interferon-based treatment than are the other genotypes (2, 3, 5 and 6).