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The cytokine Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been identified to be secreted by the pituitary gland and the monocyte/macrophage and to play an important role in endotoxic shock. MIF has the unique property of being released from macrophages and T cells in response to physiological concentrations of glucocorticoids. The secretion of MIF is tightly regulated and decreases at high, anti-inflammatory steroid concentration.

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.

Placental Growth Factor, also known as PGF is rich in trophoblastic giant cells which are linked with the parietal yolk sac at early stages of embryogenesis. Furthermore, the secretion of PGF by trophoblastic giant cells is the signal which initiates as well as co-ordinates vascularization in the deciduum and placenta during early embryogenesis.

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.

PDGF-BB is a member of the platelet-derived growth factor family. The four members of this family are mitogenic factors for cells of mesenchymal origin and are characterized by a motif of eight cysteines. This gene product can exist either as a homodimer (PDGF-BB) or as a heterodimer with the platelet-derived growth factor alpha polypeptide (PDGF-AB), where the dimers are connected by disulfide bonds. Mutations in this gene are associated with meningioma. Reciprocal translocations between chromosomes 22 and 7, at sites where this gene and that for COL1A1 are located, are associated with a particular type of skin tumor called dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans resulting from unregulated expression of growth factor. Two splice variants have been identified for this gene.

WIF1 binds to wnt proteins and inhibits their activities. WIF1 plays a role in mesoderm segmentation. WNT proteins are extracellular signaling molecules that take part in the control of embryonic development & cancer. WIF1 protein contains a WNT inhibitory factor (WIF) domain and 5 epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domains. WIF1 takes part in mesoderm segmentation. WIF1 protein is found to be present in fish, amphibia and mammals. WIF1 is a recurrent target in human salivary gland oncogenesis. Downregulation of WIF1 takes part in the development and progression of pleomorphic adenomas. WIF1 is a tumor suppressor, specifically in nonfunctioning pituitary tumors.

Complement Factor D (Adipsin), which belongs to the trypsin family of peptidases, is involved in the alternative complement pathway of the complement system where it cleaves factor B. In the alternative complement pathway, Adipsin is best known for its role in humoral suppression of infectious agents. In addition, Adipsin is a serine protease which is secreted by adipocytes into the bloodstream. Ultimately, Adipsin has a high level of expression in fat, proposing a role for adipose tissue in immune system biology.

The homeobox protein family of transcription factors has many members that take part in developmental processes such as HHEX. HHEX is known to interact with Promyelocytic leukemia protein and expression in specific hematopoietic lines indicates that this protein is involved in hematopoietic differentiation.

TNFRSF17 is a receptor for tnfsf13b/blys/baff and tnfsf13/april. TNFRSF17 promotes b-cell survival and plays a role in the regulation of humoral immunity. TNFRSF17 activates nf-kappa-b and jnk. TNFRSF17 is a member of the TNF-receptor superfamily. TNFRSF17 is expressed in mature B lymphocytes, and is invloved in B cell development and autoimmune response. TNFRSF17 specifically binds to the tumor TNFSF13B/TALL-1/BAFF, which causes NF-kappaB and MAPK8/JNK activation. TNFRSF17 binds to a variety of TRAF family members, and therefore transduces signals for cell survival and proliferation. TNFRSF17 is a type III membrane protein having 1 extracellular cysteine rich domain. Within the TNFRSF, it shares the highest homology with TACI. BCMA and TACI have both been shown to bind to APRIL and BAFF, members of the TNF ligand superfamily. BCMA expression has been found in immune organs. TNFRSF17 appears to be localized to the Golgi compartment. The binding of BCMA to APRIL or BAFF has been shown to stimulate IgM production in peripheral blood B cells and increase the survival of cultured B cells.

Prolactin is a neuroendocrine hormone synthesized primarily by the pituitary gland but also a variety of other cell types including the placenta, brain and uterus. Its primary function is to promote and maintain lactation but has also been shown to have a role in breast cancer development, regulation of reproductive function and immunoregulation.

PDGF-AA, PDGF-BB and PDGF-AB, are potent mitogens for a variety of cell types including smooth muscle cells, connective tissue cells, bone and cartilage cells, and some blood cells. The PDGF is stored in platelet alpha-granules and released upon platelet activation. The PDGF is involved in a number of biological processes, including hyperplasia, chemotaxis, embryonic neuron development, and respiratory tubule epithelial cell development. Two distinct signaling receptors used by PDGF have been identified and named PDGFR-alpha and PDGFR-beta. PDGFR-alpha is high-affinity receptor for each of the three PDGF forms. On the other hand, PDGFR-beta interacts with only PDGF-BB and PDGF-AB.

DFF is a heterodimeric protein of 40kDa (DFFB) and 45kDa (DFFA) subunits. DFFA (DNA fragmentation factor subunit alpha) is the substrate for caspase-3 and triggers DNA fragmentation during apoptosis. DFF is activated once DFFA is cleaved by caspase-3. The cleaved fragments of DFFA detach from DFFB (the active component of DFF), which in turn triggers DNA fragmentation as well as chromatin condensation during apoptosis. Apoptosis is accompanied by shrinkage and fragmentation of the cells and nuclei and degradation of the chromosomal DNA into nucleosomal units.
A reduced level of DFFA detected in ovarian endometriosis may be a part of an apoptosis-resistant mechanism enhancing the disease progression.
DFFA at chromosome 1 shows rare allelic variants in neuroblastoma tumors.

Insulin-like Growth Factor-Binding Protein 7 (IGFBP7) is a member of the IGFBP family. IGFBP family members are all cysteine rich proteins with conserved cysteine and have an IGFBP domain, a Kazal-like domain and an Ig-like C2-type domain. IGFBP7 is expressed in a broad range of normal human tissues and it mostly shows reduced expression in cancer cell lines of prostate, breast, colon, and lung origin. IGFBP7 has a role in skeletal myogenesis by binding to IGF in a manner which inhibits IGF induced differentiation of skeletal myoblasts, without disturbing IGF induced proliferation. Moreover, IGFBP7 suppresses growth and colony formation of prostate and breast cancer cell lines via an IGF independent mechanism, which triggers a delay in the G1 phase of the cell cycle, and increased apoptosis.

IL-32 is part of the cytokine family and contains a tyrosine sulfation site, 3 potential N-myristoylation sites, multiple putative phosphorylation sites, and an RGD cell-attachment sequence. IL-32 expression is elevated after the activation of T-cells by mitogens or the activation of NK cells by IL-2. IL-32 induces the production of TNF-a from macrophage cells. IL-32 pro-inflammatory pathway is activated in response to influenza A virus infection. Dysregulation of IL-32 in myelodysplastic syndrome and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia modulates apoptosis and impairs NK function.
Induction of TNF, IL-1beta, and IL-6 by IL-32 is intervened by p38-MAPK. IL-32 induced monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation is mediated through nonapoptotic, caspase-3-dependent mechanisms. IL32 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. IL-32 is involved in activation-induced cell death in T cells, through its intracellular actions. IL-32 is a cell-associated proinflammatory cytokine, which is particularly stimulated by mycobacteria through a caspase-1- and IL-18-dependent production of interferon gamma.
IL-32 is associated with TNF-a, IL-1beta, and IL-18. IL32 is involved in human rheumatoid arthritis and is a novel target in autoimmune diseases.

HB-EGF is an EGF related growth factor which signals via the EGF receptor, and stimulates the proliferation of SMC (smooth muscle cells), fibroblasts, epithelial cells and keratinocytes. HB-EGF is expressed in various cell types and tissues, including vascular endothelial cells and SMC, macrophages, skeletal muscle, keratinocytes and particular tumor cells. HB-EGF’s ability to explicitly bind heparin and heparin sulfate proteoglycans is dissimilar from other EGF-like molecules, and might be related to the enhanced mitogenic activity, relative to EGF, that HB-EGF exerts on smooth muscle cells.

Vascular endothelial growth factor is an important signaling protein involved in both vasculogenesis and 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 are linked to POEMS syndrome, also known as Crow-Fukase syndrome. Mutations in this gene have been associated with proliferative and nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy.

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

Endothelial cells express three different vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptors, belonging to the family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). They are named VEGFR-1 (Flt-1), VEGFR-2 (KDR/Flk-1), VEGFR-3 (Flt-4). Their expression is almost exclusively restricted to endothelial cells, but VEGFR-1 can also be found on monocytes, dendritic cells and on trophoblast cells. The flt-1 gene was first described in 1990. The receptor contains seven immunoglobulin-like extracellular domains, a single transmembrane region and an intracellular splited tyrosine kinase domain. Compared to VEGFR-2 the Flt-1 receptor has a higher affinity for VEGF but a weaker signaling activity. VEGFR-1 thus leads not to proliferation of endothelial cells, but mediates signals for differentiation. Interestingly a naturally occuring soluble variant of VEGFR-1 (sVEGFR-1) was found in HUVE supernatants in 1996, which is generated by alternative splicing of the flt-1 mRNA. The biological functions of sVEGFR-1 still are not clear, but it seems to be an endogenous regulator of angiogenesis, binding VEGF with the same affinity as the full-length receptor.

Lymphotoxin alpha, a member of the tumor necrosis factor family, is a cytokine produced by lymphocytes. LTA is highly inducible, secreted, and exists as homotrimeric molecule. LTA forms heterotrimers with lymphotoxin-beta which anchors lymphotoxin-alpha to the cell surface. LTA mediates a large variety of inflammatory, immunostimulatory, and antiviral responses. LTA is also involved in the formation of secondary lymphoid organs during development and plays a role in apoptosis.

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.

KLF4 is a transcription factor that performs as both an activator and repressor. KLF4 is expressed mainly in erythroid tissues and found mostly in gut. KLF4 is takes part in the differentiation of epithelial cells in addition to skeletal and kidney development.

EIF1AX is an important eukaryotic translation initiation factor. EIF1AX is essential for the binding of the 43S complex (a 40S subunit, eIF2/GTP/Met-tRNAi and eIF3) to the 5'' end of capped RNA. EIF1AP1 is needed for maximal rate of protein biosynthesis. EIF1AX increases ribosome dissociation into subunits and stabilizes the binding of the initiator Met-tRNA (I) to 40 S ribosomal subunits.

Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) is a multifunctional growth factor which regulates both cell growth and cell motility. It exerts a strong mitogenic effect on hepatocytes and primary epithelial cells. HGF synergizes with Interleukin-3 and GM-CSF to stimulate colony formation of hematopoietic progenitor cells in vitro and may, therefore, also modulate hematopoiesis. HGF is secreted as a single inactive polypeptide which is cleaved by serine proteases into a 69kDa Alpha chain and 34kDa Beta chain. A disulfide bond linking the alpha and beta chains produces the active heterodimeric molecule.

Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (M CSF) or colony stimulating factor 1, is a cytokine, that promoted differentiation in hematopoietic stem cells to macrophages. Another role of M CSF is to bind to its receptor (colony stimulating factor 1 receptor) and to take part in placenta growth and development.