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Matrix metalloproteinases are a family of zinc and calcium-dependent endopeptidases that break down extracellular matrix proteins. The MMP9 is secreted as a 92kDa zymogen. Cleavage of ProMMP-9 results in the active enzyme, having a molecular weight of approximately 82kDa. MMP9 is composed of the following domains: a gelatin-binding domain consisting of three fibronectin type II units, a catalytic domain containing the zinc-binding site, a proline-rich type V collagen-homologous domain and a hemopexin-like domain. MMP9 is produced by the several cell types: monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, keratinocytes, fibroblasts, osteoclasts and endothelial cells. MMP9 is involved in inflammatory responses, tissue remodeling, wound healing, tumor growth and metastasis. MMP9 may also play an important part in local proteolysis of the extracellular matrix and in leukocyte migration, as well as in bone osteoclastic resorption. MMP9 cleaves type IV and type V collagens into large C-terminal three quarter fragments and shorter N-terminal one quarter fragments. MMP9 can also degrade fibronectin but not laminin or Pz-peptide.
MMP9 defects may be a cause of susceptibility to intervertebral disc disease (IDD), also known as lumbar disk herniation (LDH).

Deoxyribose-phosphate aldolase (DERA) is a member of the deoC/fbaB aldolase protein family involved in the carbohydrate degradation pathway. DERA catalyzes the conversion of 2-deoxy-D-ribose 5-phosphate to D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and an acetyldehyde.

BAG3 Inhibits the chaperone activity of HSP70/HSC70 by promoting substrate release. BAG3 has anti-apoptotic activity. BAG proteins participate with Hip for their binding to Hsc70/Hsp70 ATPase domain and encourage substrate release. BAG proteins have about 45 amino acid BAG domain close to the C terminus however they differ noticeably in their N-terminal regions. BAG3 includes a WW domain in the N-terminal region and a BAG domain in the C-terminal region. The BAG domains of BAG1, BAG2, and BAG3 interact particularly with the Hsc70 ATPase domain in vitro and in mammalian cells. They bind with high affinity to the ATPase domain of Hsc70 and inhibit its chaperone activity in a Hip-repressible manner. BAG3 plays a role as a protein-refolding cochaperone of the bcl2 binding protein BAG family and as upregulated in response to persistent stress of cellular calcium balance dysregulation. BAG3 has been shown to diminish stress-induced apoptosis.

C9orf103 is a member of the gluconokinase gntK/gntV family. C9orf103 takes part in carbohydrate acid metabolism and D-gluconate degradation.

GARS is an (alpha)2 dimer which is a member of the class II family of tRNA synthetases. GARS is a glycyl-tRNA synthetase, one of the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases which charge tRNAs with their cognate amino acids. GARS catalyzes the attachment of glycine to tRNA(Gly). In addition, GARS is able to produce diadenosine tetraphosphate (Ap4A), which is a universal pleiotropic signaling molecule required for cell regulation pathways, by direct condensation of two ATPs. GARS has been demonstrated to be a target of autoantibodies in the human autoimmune diseases, polymyositis or dermatomyositis.

Ubiquitin-like modifier activating enzyme 5 (UBA5) is a member of the ubiquitin-activating E1 family and UBA5 subfamily. Ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like proteins are recognized as covalently conjugated to various cellular substrates by a three-step enzymatic pathway. The ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1) has a vital role in the first step of ubiquitination pathway to activate ubiquitin or ubiquitin-like proteins. UBA5 activates an ubiquitin-like protein, ubiquitin-fold modifier 1 (Ufm1), by forming a high-energy thioester bond. UBA5 is located primarily in cytoplasm, while it generally localizes to the nucleus in presence of SUMO2.

Ubiquitin Conjugating Enzyme E2Z, also known as UBE2z, is a protein coding gene which is a part of the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme family. UBE2z catalyzes the covalent attachment of ubiquitin to various proteins. UBE2z takes part in in apoptosis regulation and is also a specific substrate for UBA6, not charged with ubiquitin by UBE1.

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.

HAGH is a part of the glyoxalase family and a thiolesterase which hydrolyses S-lactoyl-glutathione to reduced glutathione and D-lactate. HAGH protein is a detoxifying enzyme of glycolysis byproduct methylglyoxal and a target of p63 and p73 and serves as a pro-survival factor of the p53 family. HAGH appears only as a monomer and binds two zinc ions per subunit.

C3 is central to the activation of all 3 pathways of complement activation. Initiation of each pathway generates proteolytic enzyme complexes which binds the target surface. These enzymes cleave a peptide bond in C3 releasing the anaphylatoxin C3a and activating C3b. Most of the C3 activated during complement activation never attaches to the surface due to its thioester reaction with water forming fluid phase C3b which is rapidly inactivated by factors H and I forming iC3b. Surface-bound C3b is necessary in all 3 pathways for efficient activation of C5 and formation of C5b-9 complexes that lyse the target cell membrane.

CBR3 catalyzes the reduction of a large number of biologically and pharmacologically active carbonyl compounds to their corresponding alcohols. CBR3 is one of several monomeric NADPH-dependent oxidoreductases. Furthermore, CBR3 contains 3 exons spanning 11.2 kilobases and is strongly linked to another carbonyl reductase gene, the CBR1. It was suggested that CBR3 mediates 9-cis-retinoic acid-induced cytostatis and is a potential prognostic marker for oral malignancy.
CBR3 is identified in the ovary, pancreas, intestine, colon, kidney, brain, thymus, lung, heart, liver, spleen, leukocyte, prostate and the testis.

Lassa virus, which is a member of the Arenaviridae virus family, causes acute viral hemorrhagic fever. It was first reported in 1969 in the town of Lassa, in Borno State, Nigeria. Natal multimammate mouse is the primary reservoir of Lassa virus, found in sub-Saharan Africa. The virus is transmitted by contact with the feces or urine of animals, contributing to its high rate of incidence. Lassa fever occurs generally in West Africa. Lassa fever results in 300,000 to 500,000 cases annually and causes about 5,000 deaths each year. Outbreaks of this disease have been observed in Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and the Central African Republic. Protein structure: Lassa virus genome is comprised of two single-stranded RNA molecules defined as small (S) and large (L). Two genes on the S segment encode the nucleoprotein (NP) and two envelope glycoproteins (GP1 and GP2); while, the L segment encodes the viral polymerase (L protein) and RING finger Z matrix protein. GP1 subunit serves a putative role in receptor binding, while the structure of GP2 subunit is consistent with viral transmembrane fusion proteins. NP is a virion protein which binds and protects the viral RNA.

The enzyme Carbonic anhydrase II having an accession number of NP_414668 is also called carbonate dehydratase which is part of the enzyme family that catalyses rapid inter-conversion of carbon dioxide & water to bicarbonate, carbonic acid and protons (CO2 + H2O ? HCO3? + H+), a reaction that occurs rather slowly in the absence of a catalyst. The majority of carbonic anhydrases enclose a zinc ion in their active site and therefore is classified as metalloenzymes.
The most important function of Carbonic anhydrase is known to preserve acid-base balance in blood and other tissues, and to help transport carbon dioxide of tissues. Carbonic anhydrases have been found in all kingdoms of life. Carbonic anhydrase has 3 different classes: alpha, beta and gamma which share very little sequence or structural similarity, thus far they all perform the same function and require a zinc ion at the active site. Mammalian carbonic anhydrase is monomeric and belongs to the alpha class. Plant carbonic anhydrase is dimeric and belongs to the beta class.
Methane-producing bacteria carbonic anhydrase is trimeric and grows in hot springs which forms the gamma class.

MAPK11 belongs to the MAP kinase family and is most associated with p38 MAP kinases (MAPKs). MAPKs are activated mainly as a reaction to cellular stress and inflammatory cytokines, and inhibitors that target the MAPK14 and MAPK11 have demonstrated ability to cure inflammatory disease. MAPK11 cooperates with HDAC3 and Promyelocytic leukemia protein and takes part in a signal transduction pathway which is activated by alterations in the osmolarity of the extracellular environment, by environmental stress, or by cytokines.

P4HB is a multifunctional and highly abundant enzyme that is part of the protein disulfide isomerase family. When present as a tetramer consisting of two alpha and two beta subunits, P4HB has a role in hydroxylation of prolyl residues in preprocollagen. P4HB is a disulfide isomerase containing two thioredoxin domains that catalyze the formation, breakage and rearrangement of disulfide bonds.

Chlamydia is a common term for infection with any bacterium belonging to the phylum Chlamydiae. This term derives from the name of the bacterial genusChlamydiain the family Chlamydiaceae, order Chlamydiales, class and phylum Chlamydiae. There are two genera in Chlamydiaceae: Chlamydia and Chlamydophila. The genus Chlamydia includes three species: C. trachomatis, C. muridarum, and C. suis.

Cathepsin-E also known as CTSE is a gastric aspartyl protease which functions as a disulfide-linked homodimer. CTSE belongs to the peptidase C1 family; furthermore it has specificity similar to pepsin A and cathepsin D. CTSE is an intracellular proteinase which does not seem to be involved in the digestion of dietary protein and is found in the uppermost concentration in the surface of epithelial mucus-producing cells of the stomach. CTSE is the first aspartic proteinaseexpressed in the fetal stomach and is discovered in more than half of gastric cancers. For that reason CTSE is anoncofetal antigen. In addition, transcript variants utilizing alternative polyadenylation signals and two transcript variantsencoding different isoforms exist for this gene.

Matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) also known as matrilysin and PUMP (EC 3.4.24.23) cleaves a number of substrates including collagen types IV and X, elastin, fibronectin, gelatin, laminin and proteoglycans. MMP-7 is closely related to the stromelysin family members but is encoded by a different gene. MMP-7 is the smallest of all the MMPs consisting of a pro-peptide domain and a catalytic domain. It lacks the hemopexin-like domain common to other members of the MMPs. MMP-7 is secreted as a 28 kDa proenzyme and can be activated in vitro by organomercurials and trypsin and in vivo by MMP-3 to a 18 kDa active MMP-7 enzyme. Once activated, MMP-7 can activate pro-MMP-1 and pro-MMP-9 but not pro-MMP-2. MMP-7 is widely expressed having been reported in elevated levels in cycling endometrium as well as in colorectal cancers and adenomas, hepatocellular carcinomas, rectal carcinomas, and approximately 50% of gliomas.

Cyclophilin B (also known as PPIB, peptidylpropyl isomerase B) is a cyclosporine-binding protein and is mainly located within the endoplasmic reticulum. It is associated with the secretory pathway and released in biological fluids. This protein can bind to cells derived from T- and B-lymphocytes, and may regulate cyclosporine A-mediated immunosuppression.

AKR1B1 is part of the aldo/keto reductase superfamily, which consists of more than 40 known enzymes and proteins. AKR1B1 catalyzes the reduction several aldehydes, including the aldehyde form of glucose, and thus involved in the development of diabetic complications by catalyzing the reduction of glucose to sorbitol. AKR1B1 catalyzes the NADPH-dependent reduction of a wide variety of carbonyl-containing compounds to their corresponding alcohols. Transgenic mice over expressing human aldose reductase show that AKR1B1 is a key player in ischemic injury and impairment of functional and metabolic recovery after ischemia. Aldose Reductase is an obligatory mediator of TNF-alpha signaling leading to an increase in the expression of adhesion molecules and increased binding of monocytes to the endothelium. AKR1B1 is a critical regulator of TNF-alpha-induced apoptotic signaling in endothelial cells.

ALDOB is a tetrameric glycolytic enzyme which catalyzes the reversible cleavage of fructose 1-phosphate into dihydroxyacetone phosphate and glyceraldehyde. Fructose-bisphosphate aldolase B (ALDOB) is one of 3 known aldolase isoenzymes, and is located in the kidney and the small adult intestine where it is linked with aldolases A or C. ALDOB is regulated by Insulin and glucagon and is implicated in hereditary fructose intolerance disease.

Sialidase 1 (NEU1) is a lysosomal enzyme which cleaves terminal sialic acid residues from substrates such as glycoproteins and glycolipids. In the lysosome, the NEU1 enzyme is part of a heterotrimeric complex in cooperation with beta-galactosidase and cathepsin A. NEU1 gene mutations may lead to sialidosis, a lysosomal storage disease that can be the type 1 (cherry red -myoclonus syndrome or normosomatic type), which is late-onset, or the type 2 (the dysmorphic type), which takes place at an earlier age with increased acuteness.

Isopentenyl-diphosphate Delta-isomerase 2 (IDI2) is a member of the IPP isomerase type 1 family. IDI2 catalyzes the 1,3-allylic reorganization of the homoallylic substrate isopentenyl (IPP) to its extremely electrophilic allylic isomer, dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP).

Trypsin inhibitor SPINK1 is secreted from pancreatic acinar cells into pancreatic fluid. SPINK1 has a role in inhibition of trypsin-catalyzed premature initiation of zymogens in the pancreas and the pancreatic duct. Alterations in SPINK1 gene are the cause for tropical calcific and pancreatitis hereditary pancreatitis.