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Akt1, also known as Akt or else protein kinase B (PKB) is an important molecule in mammaliancellular signaling. In humans, there are three genes in the "Akt family": Akt1, Akt2, and Akt3. Moreover, these enzymes are members of the serine/threonine-specific protein kinase family (EC2.7.11.1). Akt1 is involved in cellular survival pathways, by inhibiting apoptoticprocesses. Akt1 is also able to induce protein synthesis pathways, and is therefore a key signaling protein in the cellular pathways which lead to skeletal muscle hypertrophy, and general tissue growth. Since it can block apoptosis, and thereby promote cell survival, Akt1 has been implicated as a most important factor in numerous types of cancer. Akt (now also called Akt1) was at first identified as the oncogenein the transforming retrovirus, AKT8.

PCYT2 is a member of the cytidylyltransferase family. PCYT2 is an enzyme which catalyzes the formation of CDP-MEA from CTP and phospho MEA in the Kennedy pathway of phospholipid synthesis. PCYT2 has the strongest expression in the liver, heart, and skeletal muscle.

NRAS binds GDP/GTP and has intrinsic GTPase activity. NRAS is a membrane protein that shuttles between the Golgi apparatus and the plasma membrane. This transport is regulated through palmitoylation and depalmitoylation by the ZDHHC9-GOLGA7 complex. NRAS is activated to a GTP-bound form by a GTPase activating protein and inactivated to a GDP-bound form by a guanine nucleotide-exchange factor. Defects in this NRAS gene result in juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia.

The bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are a family of secreted signaling molecules that can induce ectopic bone growth. Many BMPs are part of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFB) superfamily. BMPs were originally identified by an ability of demineralized bone extract to induce endochondral osteogenesis in vivo in an extraskeletal site. Based on its expression early in embryogenesis, the BMP encoded by this gene has a proposed role in early development. In addition, the fact that this BMP is closely related to BMP5 and BMP7 has lead to speculation of possible bone inductive activity.

B-Raf Proto-Oncogene, also known as BRAF is a member of the raf/mil family of serine/threonine protein kinases. BRAF participates in regulating the MAP kinase/ERKs signaling pathway, which eventually have an effect on cell division, differentiation, and secretion. Mutations in BRAF have been associated with cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome, which is a disease characterized by heart defects, mental retardation and a distinctive facial appearance. In addition, mutations in BRAF have also been associated with different cancers, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, colorectal cancer, malignant melanoma, thyroid carcinoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, as well as adenocarcinoma of lung.

ErbB3, also called Her3 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 3), is a type I membrane glycoprotein that is a member of the ErbB family of tyrosine kinase receptors. ErbB family members serve as receptors for the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family of growth factors. Among ErbB family members, ErbB3 is unique in that it contains a defective kinase domain. ErbB3 is expressed in keratinocytes, melanocytes, skeletal muscle cells, embryonic myoblasts and Schwann cells. Monomeric ErbB3 serves as a low affinity receptor for the heregulins (HRG). ErbB3 can induce specific antibody production in vivo, hence to inhibit tumor cell growth. ErbB-3 can be used to treat early, medium and advanced or post-operative breast cancer with over-expression of ErbB2. According to its mechanism of action, ErbB3 is classified as a therapeutic for cancer.

ErbB3, also called Her3 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 3), is a type I membrane glycoprotein that is a member of the ErbB family of tyrosine kinase receptors. ErbB family members serve as receptors for the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family of growth factors. Among ErbB family members, ErbB3 is unique in that it contains a defective kinase domain. ErbB3 is expressed in keratinocytes, melanocytes, skeletal muscle cells, embryonic myoblasts and Schwann cells. Monomeric ErbB3 serves as a low affinity receptor for the heregulins (HRG). ErbB3 can induce specific antibody production in vivo, hence to inhibit tumor cell growth. ErbB-3 can be used to treat early, medium and advanced or post-operative breast cancer with over-expression of ErbB2. According to its mechanism of action, ErbB3 is classified as a therapeutic for cancer.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a glycoprotein present in fetal digestive-tract tissues; it’s involved in cell adhesion. The production of CEA stops before birth. CEA is called tumor marker since its elevated levels are found in the serum from individuals with colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, lung and breast carcinomas and in heavy smokers.
There are also benign conditions that elevate CEA levels such as smoking, infection, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, and some benign tumors (in the equivalent organs which have cancers with elevated CEA). Typically, higher levels of CEA are found in men, smokers, and older individuals.
The presence of CEA assists in screening, in evaluating recurrent or disseminated disease, and in determining the success of surgical removal of malignant tumors.
CEA levels can be used as indicators of treatment success. The normal values range from 0.0 to 2.5 ng/ml of serum (from blood), in non-smokers, a greater amount than that may be suggestive of cancer. Levels above 20 ng/ml before treatment are associated with cancer which has already metastasized. Benign conditions do not usually cause a CEA increase over 10 ng/ml.
The high levels of CEA should return to normal after successful therapy, however if during follow up there’s an elevation in CEA levels it indicates a recurrence of tumor.
Carcinoembryonic antigen family belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily; it consists of 29 genes, 18 of which are normally expressed.

CCNH is part of the cyclin family that is known for its protein abundance through the cell cycle. Cyclins act as regulators of CDK kinases. CCNH forms a complex with CDK7 kinase and ring finger protein MAT1. The kinase complex is able to phosphorylate CDK2 and CDC2 kinases, therefore it functions as a CDK-activating kinase (CAK). CCNH and its kinase collaborator are components of TFIIH, as well as RNA polymerase II protein complexes.

MOB3B is similar to yeast Mob1 protein which binds Mps1p, a protein kinase vital for spindle pole body duplication and mitotic checkpoint regulation. MOB3B is situated on the opposite strand as the INF kappa precursor (IFNK) gene.

Adhesion Molecule with Ig-Like Domain 2, also known as AMIGO2 is a member of the leucine-rich repeat family. AMIGO2 arbitrates homophilic in addition to heterophilic cell-cell interaction with AMIGO1 or AMIGO3. Furthermore, AMIGO2 contributes to signal transduction via its intracellular domain and is also essential for tumorigenesis of a subset of gastric adenocarcinomas.

FABP1 (Fatty acid binding protein1) encodes the fatty acid binding protein found in liver. FABP1 is composed of ten antiparallel beta strands that form a barrel with a bigger binding pocket than the other FABPs allowing it to accommodate two fatty acid. This protein binds free fatty acids and their coenzyme A derivatives, bilirubin, and some other small molecules in the cytoplasm; it may be involved in intracellular lipid transport and metabolism.

KRT18 encodes the type I intermediate filament chain keratin 18. Keratin 18, together with its filament partner keratin 8, are perhaps the most commonly found members of the intermediate filament gene family. They are expressed in single layer epithelial tissues of the body. Mutations in this gene have been linked to cryptogenic cirrhosis. Two transcript variants encoding the same protein have been found for this gene.

The protein encoded by LAMP2 belongs to a family of membrane glycoproteins. This glycoprotein provides selectins with carbohydrate ligands LAMP2 takes part in tumor cell metastasis and in addition has a role in the protection, maintenance, and adhesion of the lysosome. The effect of alternative splicing of this gene is multiple transcript variants encoding distinct proteins.

GIPC1 is a PDZ domain protein that cooperates with RGS-GAIP and the viral oncoprotein TAX, which transactivates viral and cellular promoters throughout interactions with different transcription factors. GIPC1 particularly localizes to clusters of vesicles close to the plasma membrane and takes part in G protein-coupled signaling pathway participating in regulating Clathrin-coated vesicular trafficking. GIPC1 cooperates with membrane bound Semaphorin F, which is takes part in neuronal axon growth, and controls the subcellular distribution of M-SemF in the brain.

Akt1, also known as Akt or else protein kinase B (PKB) is an important molecule in mammaliancellular signaling. In humans, there are three genes in the "Akt family": Akt1, Akt2, and Akt3. Moreover, these enzymes are members of the serine/threonine-specific protein kinase family (EC2.7.11.1). Akt1 is involved in cellular survival pathways, by inhibiting apoptoticprocesses. Akt1 is also able to induce protein synthesis pathways, and is therefore a key signaling protein in the cellular pathways which lead to skeletal muscle hypertrophy, and general tissue growth. Since it can block apoptosis, and thereby promote cell survival, Akt1 has been implicated as a most important factor in numerous types of cancer. Akt (now also called Akt1) was at first identified as the oncogenein the transforming retrovirus, AKT8.

PLGF is a growth factor active in angiogenesis, and endothelial cell growth, stimulating their proliferation and migration. It binds to receptor vegfr-1/flt1.
PLGF-2 binds neuropilin-1 and 2 in a heparin-dependent manner.

GMCSF is a cytokine that controls the production, differentiation, and function of granulocytes and macrophages. The active form of the protein is found extracellularly as a homodimer. This gene has been localized to a cluster of related genes at chromosome region 5q31, which is known to be associated with interstitial deletions in the 5q- syndrome and acute myelogenous leukemia. Other genes in the cluster include those encoding interleukins 4, 5, and 13.
GM-CSF stimulates the growth and differentiation of hematopoietic precursor cells from various lineages, including granulocytes, macrophages, eosinophils and erythrocytes.

MICB (MHC class I chain-related gene B) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that functions as a ligand for human NKG2D type II receptor. A closely related protein, MICA, shares 85% amino acid identity with MICB. These 2 proteins are distantly related to the MHC class I proteins. MICA and MICB (MICA/B) possess three extracellular immunoglobulin-like domains, but have no capacity to bind peptide or interact with ?2-microglobulin. The genes encoding MICA/B are found within the major histocompatibility complex on human chromosome 6. The MICB locus is polymorphic with more than 15 recognized human alleles. MICA/B are minimally expressed on normal cells, but are frequently expressed on epithelial tumors and can be induced by bacterial and viral infections. MICA/B are ligands for NKG2D, an activating receptor expressed on NK cells, NKT cells, ?? T cells, and CD8+ ?? T cells. Recognition of MICA/B by NKG2D results in the activation of cytolytic activity and/or cytokine production by these effector cells. MICA/B recognition is involved in tumor surveillance, viral infections, and autoimmune diseases. The release of soluble forms of MICA/B from tumors down-regulates NKG2D surface expression on effector cells resulting in the impairment of anti-tumor immune response.

Dickkopf-related protein 3 (DKK3) belongs to the DKK protein family including Dkk-1, 2, 3 and -4. DKK3 is a 350 amino acid secreted glycoprotein which is comprised of an N-terminal signal peptide and 2 conserved cysteine-rich domains that are separated by a 12 amino acid linker region. DKK3 is involved in embryonic development through its inhibition of the WNT signaling pathway. DKK3 gene expression is decreased in a variety of cancer cell lines and it may act as a tumor suppressor gene.

N-myc-interactor belongs to the oncogene Myc family which has a significant part in cell proliferation, differentiation, and neoplastic transformation. In Addition, NMI cooperates with all STATs except STAT2 and augments STAT-mediated transcription in response to cytokines IL2 and IFN-gamma. The NMI mRNA is expressed in small quantities in all human fetal and adult tissues tested except brain and but in large quantities in cancer cell line-myeloid leukemias.

Secreted Protein Acidic & Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) protein is coded by the SPARC gene in humans. SPARC is a glycoprotein located in bones that binds to calcium. SPARC is produced by fibroblasts, capillary endothelial cells, platelets and macrophages, mainly in areas of tissue morphogenesis and remodelling. Asides from calcium, SPARC can also bind to collagen.

The bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) receptors are a family of transmembrane serine/threonine kinases that include the type I receptors BMPR1A and BMPR1B and the type II receptor BMPR2. These receptors are also closely related to the receptors, ACVR1 and ACVR2. The ligands of these receptors are members of the TGF-beta superfamily. TGF-betas transduce their signals through the formation of heteromeric complexes with 2 different types of serine (threonine) kinase receptors: type I receptors of about 50-55 kD and type II receptors of about 70-80 kD. Type II receptors bind ligands in the absence of type I receptors, but they require their respective type I receptors for signaling, whereas type I receptors require their respective type II receptors for ligand binding.

C6ORF108 is stimulated by c-Myc protein that is a transcription factor that is involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. C6ORF108 functions in rat in cellular proliferation and c-Myc-mediated transformation. C6ORF108 catalyzes the cleavage of the N-glycosidic bond of deoxyribonucleoside 5''-monophosphates to yield deoxyribose 5-phosphate and a purine or pyrimidine base. Deoxyribonucleoside 5''-monophosphates comprising purine bases are favored to those comprising of pyrimidine bases.