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Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 3 (CXCL3) is a small cytokine belonging to the CXC chemokine family that is also known as GRO3 oncogene (GRO3), GRO protein gamma (GROg) and macrophage inflammatory protein-2-beta (MIP2b). CXCL3 controls migration and adhesion of monocytes and mediates it effects on its target cell by interacting with a cell surface chemokine receptor called CXCR2. The gene for CXCL3 is located on chromosome 4 in a cluster of other CXC chemokines.

Uromodulin is the most abundant protein in normal urine. Its secretion in urine follows proteolytic cleavage of the ectodomain of its glycosyl phosphatidylinosital-anchored counterpart that is situated on the luminal cell surface of the loop of Henle. Uromodulin plays a role as a constitutive inhibitor of calcium crystallization in renal fluids. Secretion of uromodulin in urine provides protection against urinary tract infections caused by uropathogenic bacteria. Defects in Uromodulin expression are associated with the autosomal dominant renal disorders medullary cystic kidney disease-2 (MCKD2) and familial juvenile hyperuricemic nephropathy (FJHN). These disorders are characterized by juvenile onset of hyperuricemia, gout, and progressive renal failure. While several transcript variants may exist for this gene, the full-length natures of only two have been described to date. UMOD is involved in regulating the circulating activity of cytokines as it binds to il-1, il-2 and tnf with high affinity.

Prothymosin alpha (PTMA) is a part of the pro/parathymosin family. PTMA mediates immune function by conferring resistance to some opportunistic infections.

Cell surface glycoprotein MUC18 (MCAM), is an integral membrane glycoprotein which is part of the immunoglobulin superfamily. MCAM is related with a variety of carcinomas such as tumor progression, metastasis and is also implicated in embryonic neural development. In Addition, MCAM takes part in cell adhesion, as well as in cohesion of the endothelial monolayer at the intercellular junctions in vascular tissue.

Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) is a small cytokine belonging to the CC chemokine family that is also known as monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1). It is found at the site of tooth eruption and bone degradation. In the bone, CCL2 is expressed by mature osteoclasts and osteoblasts and is under the control of nuclear factor ?B (NF?B). CCL2 recruits immune cells, such as monocytes, to sites of tissue injury and infection. This chemokine is produced as a protein precursor containing signal peptide of 23 amino acids and a mature peptide of 76 amino acids. It is a monomeric polypeptide, with a molecular weight of approximately 13kDa. As with many other CC chemokines, CCL2 is located on chromosome 17 in humans. The cell surface receptors that bind CCL2 are CCR2 and CCR5.

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.

Midkine (MK) is the product of a retinoic acid responsive gene, MK, and is a member of a family of heparin binding factors. It contains 121 amino acid residues including 10 conserved cysteine residues, all of which appear to be disulphide linked.
Midkine is expressed during embryogenesis, showing an expression pattern that suggests functions in neurogenesis, cell migration, secondary organogenetic induction, and mesoderm-epithelial interaction.
The widespread downregulation of MK in the adult human is reverted in a number of cancers, in which polypeptides are able to act as both transforming growth factors and promoters of angiogenesis.
Midkine (MK), induces chemotaxis of human neutrophils and was found to trigger mobilization of intracellular calcium of these cells.
Midkine induces histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells with a rapid response in a dose dependent manner.
Midkine is also a potent stimulator of collagen and glycosaminoglycan synthesis.

Mouse CXCL16 is a nonELR motif including CXC chemokine with a transmembrane domain. Mouse CXCL16 cDNA encodes a 246 a.a. precursor protein with a putative 26 a.a. residue signal peptide, an 88 a.a. residue chemokine domain, an 87 a.a. residue mucinlike spacer region, a 22 a.a. residue transmembrane domain, and a 23 a.a. residue cytoplasmic tail.
CXCL16 induces a strong chemotactic response and calcium mobilization. Furthermore, CXCL16 acts as a scavenger receptor on macrophages, which specifically binds to OxLDL (oxidized low density lipoprotein), suggesting that it may be involved in pathophysiology such as atherogenesis.
Mouse CXCL16 is generated by dendritic cells in lymphoid organ T cell zones as well as by cells in the splenic red pulp both as membranebound and soluble forms. CXCR6/Bonzo (STRL33 and TYMSTR) is the receptor for CXCL16. CXCL16 is expressed in the spleen, lymph nodes, and Peyer patches. It is also expressed in non-lymphoid tissues such as lung, kidney, small intestine, and thymus, with weak expression in heart and liver and no expression in brain and purified B- and T-cells.
CXCL16 deficiency is linked to breast cancer progression. In addition, CXCL16 is involved in immunological liver injury by regulating T lymphocyte infiltration in liver tissue. Furtheremore, CXCL16 has a distinctive role in the maintenance of cardiac allograft tolerance mediated by natural killer T cells. Moreover, CXCL16 has a significant role in not only the production of IFN-gamma by NKT cells, but also promotion of Th1-inclined immune responses mediated by NKT cells.

Mortality factor 4-like protein 1 (MORF4L1) is a member of the MRG family. MORF4L1 is a component of the NuA4 histone acetyltransferase (HAT) complex which is involved in transcriptional activation of select genes mostly by acetylation of nucleosomal histones H4 and H2A. MORF4L1 is a transcription factor expressed in various human tissues, and its orthologs have been found in many other eukaryotes which comprise the MRG protein family. The C-terminal part of MORF4L1 forms a conserved MRG domain that is involved in interactions with the tumor suppressor protein retinoblastoma and a nucleoprotein.

Myozenin 1 (MYOZ1) is a member of the myozenin family. MYOZ1 is mostly expressed in the skeletal muscle. Members of the myozenin family act as calcineurin-interacting proteins which helps tether calcineurin to the sarcomere of cardiac and skeletal muscle. The myozenin family plays a significant role in modulation of calcineurin signaling.

NSL1 holds two coiled-coil domains.NSL1 proteins, localized to kinetochores - chromosome associated structures which attach to microtubules and mediate chromosome movements throughout cell division. NSL1 is a fragment of a conserved protein complex that hold two chromodomain-containing proteins and a component of the outer plate of the kinetochore. NSL1 connect centromeric heterochromatin with the outer kinetochore structure. Several transcript variants are known to encod different isoforms for this gene.

IHH belongs to the hedgehog family of secreted signaling molecules. Hedgehog proteins are vital regulators of various developmental processes including growth, patterning and morphogenesis. The vertebrate homologues of Hh comprise several proteins including sonic hedgehog (Shh), Indian hedgehog (Ihh), and Desert hedgehog (Dhh). IHH has a specific role in bone growth and differentiation. In addition, IHH is involved in yolk sac vasculogenesis, having a central role in differentiation of epiblast cells into endothelial and red blood cells. IHH mRNA expression is detected in fetal lung, gut, stomach, liver, kidney, pancreas and strongly in cartilage in growth regions of the developing bone. IHH gene mutations cause the brachydactyly type A1 which is characterized by shortening or malformation of the phalanges and also the acrocapitofemoral dysplasia.

SUMO3 belongs to the SUMO protein family and operates like ubiquitin. Nevertheless, unlike ubiquitin that targets proteins for degradation, SUMO3 protein takes part in several cellular processes, like nuclear transport, transcriptional regulation, apoptosis, and protein stability. SUMO3 regulates amyloid beta generation and is crucial in the onset or progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

PCNA is located in the nucleus and is a cofactor of DNA polymerase delta. PCNA acts as a homotrimer and helps elevate the processivity of leading strand synthesis during DNA replication. In reaction to DNA damage, PCNA is ubiquitinated and takes part in the RAD6-dependent DNA repair pathway. 2 transcript variants encoding the same protein have been found for PCNA gene. Pseudogenes of this PCNA gene have been described on chromosome 4 and on the X chromosome. PCNA is expressed during late G1- phase, S-phase of mitosis and persists until the end of the M-phase because of its long biological half-life. PCNA is induced by UV irradiation.

CCL25 (Teck) is a novel CC chemokine, which is distantly related (about 20% amino acid sequence identity) to other CC chemokines. The mouse CCL25 cDNA has also been cloned and shown to encode a 144 a.a. protein, which exhibits 49% a.a. sequence identity to the human CCL25. Human and mouse CCL25 expression was shown to be greatly restricted to the thymus and small intestine. While dendritic cells are identified as the source of CCL25 production in the thymus, dendritic cells derived from bone marrow do not express CCL25. CCL25 signals through the CCR9 receptor. Teck is possibly involved in T-cell development.
Recombinant human and mouse Teck were shown to be chemotactic for activated macrophages, dendritic cells and thymocytes. The recombinant protein demonstrates chemotactic activity on thymocytes, macrophages, THP-1 cells, and dendritic cells but is inactive on peripheral blood lymphocytes and neutrophils.

PHD finger protein 11 (PHF11) is a regulator of TH1-type cytokine gene expression. The decline in PHF11 expression observed with an AD-associated genotype may promote the intense TH2 reactions which characterize numerous allergic individuals. PHF11 is linked with raised total serum IgE levels, asthma and acute atopic dermatitis (AD) in children. Even though PHF11 includes a plant homeodomain, a motif frequently found in transcriptional regulators, PHF11 function of has yet been examined.

JUN N-terminal Kinase 2is a member of the MAP kinase family. MAP kinases act as an integration point for multiple biochemical signals, and are involved in a wide variety of cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, transcription regulation and development. This kinase targets specific transcription factors, and thus mediates immediate-early gene expression in response to various cell stimuli. It is most closely related to MAPK8, both of which are involved in UV radiation induced apoptosis, thought to be related to the cytochrome c-mediated cell death pathway. This gene and MAPK8 are also known as c-Jun N-terminal kinases. This kinase blocks the ubiquitination of tumor suppressor p53, and thus it increases the stability of p53 in nonstressed cells. Studies of this gene's mouse counterpart suggest a key role in T-cell differentiation. Four alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been reported.

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 dependent way.

PMF1-BGLAP is a locus which represents naturally occurring read-through transcription between the neighboring polyamine-modulated factor 1 (PMF1) and bone gamma-carboxyglutamate Gla protein (BGLAP) genes on chromosome 1. There are multiple transcript variants encoding isoforms as a results of alternative splicing which share sequence identity with the upstream gene product, but they have a different C-termini because of frameshifts as opposed to the downstream gene coding sequence.

Cytokeratin 8 (KRT8) belongs to the type II keratin family clustered on the long arm of chromosome 12. Type I and type II keratins heteropolymerize to form intermediate-sized filaments in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells. KRT8 typically dimerizes with keratin 18 to form an intermediate filament in simple single-layered epithelial cells. KRT8 has a role in retaining cellular structural integrity and also functions in signal transduction and cellular differentiation. KRT8 gene mutations cause cryptogenic cirrhosis.

Ku antigen consists of two polypeptides (70 kDa and 80 kDa; the p80 subunit is occasionally called p86). The Ku heterodimer provides DNA-binding and regulatory functions to DNA-dependent protein kinase which is a central enzyme for DNA recombination processes in eucaryotic cells. The Ku protein plays important roles in multiple nuclear processes including DNA repair, V(D)J recombination, telomere maintenance, and the regulation of specific gene transcription.
Antibodies to Ku were originally reported in scleroderma-polymyositis overlap syndrome (up to 20% of patients) but have also been detectable in about 20 % of patients with primary pulmonary hypertension (as a complication of overlap), in 5-10 % of SLE and MCTD patients, and in up to 20 % of patients with primary Sj?gren's syndrome.
In IIF using HEp-2 cells, Ku-positive sera yield a dense, fine granular pattern with nucleolar staining that is typical but not specific for anti-Ku. Detection of Ku antibodies by Western blot may bear false-negative results since the main reactive epitope on the p70/p80 heterodimer is conformation-dependent.

PPIL1 belongs to the cyclophilin family of peptidylprolyl isomerases (PPIases).
The cyclophilins are a well conserved, ubiquitous family, members of which take an significant part in protein folding, immunosuppression by cyclosporin A, and infection of HIV-1 virions. PPIL1 protein increases the folding of proteins and catalyze the cis-trans isomerization of proline imidic peptide bonds in oligopeptides. PPIL1 is involved in proliferation of cancer cells through modulation of phosphorylation of stathmin. PPIL1 is a novel molecular target for colon-cancer therapy.

The galectins are a family of beta-galactoside-binding proteins implicated in modulating cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Galectin-1 is an autocrine negative growth factor that regulates cell proliferation. Galectin-1 regulates cell apoptosis and cell differentiation. Galectin-1 binds CD45, CD3 and CD4 & inhibits CD45 protein phosphatase activity and therefore the dephosphorylation of lyn kinase. Galectin-1 and its ligands are one of the master regulators of immune responses as T-cell homeostasis and survival, T-cell immune disorders, inflammation and allergies as well as host–pathogen interactions. Galectin-1 expression or overexpression in tumors and/or the tissue surrounding them must be considered as a sign of the malignant tumor progression that is often related to the long-range dissemination of tumoral cells (metastasis), to their dissemination into the surrounding normal tissue, and to tumor immune-escape. Galectin-1 in its oxidized form plays a number of important roles in the regeneration of the central nervous system after injury. The targeted overexpression (or delivery) of Galectin-1 should be considered as a method of choice for the treatment of some kinds of inflammation-related diseases, neurodegenerative pathologies and muscular dystrophies. In contrast, the targeted inhibition of Galectin-1 expression is what should be developed for therapeutic applications against cancer progression. Galectin-1 is thus a promising molecular target for the development of new and original therapeutic tools. There is 88% homology between the human and mouse galectin-1.

Geminin is a 25 kDa nuclear protein, which inhibits DNA replication and is degraded during the mitotic phase of the cell cycle. Geminin controls replication by binding to the licensing factor Cdt1, and is involved in neural differentiation. In addition, Geminin directly interacts with Six3 and Hox homeodomain proteins during embryogenesis and inhibits their functions. Geminin can also promote DNA replication. Geminin has 2 roles in 2 different stages of the cell cycle: Geminin is a negative regulator of DNA replication during the “S phase” of the cell cycle. Inhibition of Geminin during the “S phase” (by RNAi) results in an additional round of replication of portions of the genome. During the “M phase” of the cell cycle (mitosis) Geminin stabilizes the replication factor Cdt1 promoting DNA replication during the next cell cycle. Moreover, inhibition of Geminin during mitosis (by RNAi) causes destabilization of Cdt1 protein and impairment of DNA replication during the next cell cycle. Geminin thus guarantees that only one round of replication occurs during each cell cycle. It was discovered that Geminin is overexpressed in a number of malignancies and cancer cell lines. This maintains the concept that Geminin has also a positive role in DNA replication and cell cycle progression. Geminin accumulates through S, G2 and M phases of the cell cycle but is absent during the G1 phase. During the metaphase/anaphase transition of mitosis Geminin levels decrease.