Search results

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.

FKBP4 is part of the immunophilin protein family, which takes part in immunoregulation and necessary cellular processes concerning protein folding and trafficking. FKBP4 is a cis-trans prolyl isomerase that connects to the immunosuppressants FK506 and rapamycin. FKBP4 has high structural and functional similarity to FKBP1A, though, FKBP4 does not have immunosuppressant activity when complexed with FK506. FKBP4 is known to connect with phytanoyl-CoA alpha-hydroxylase. FKBP4 associates with HSP90 & HSP70 thus takes part in the intracellular trafficking of hetero-oligomeric forms of the steroid hormone receptors. FKBP4 highly associates with adeno-associated virus type 2 vectors (AAV) resulting in a considerable increase in AAV-mediated transgene expression in human cell lines. FKBP4 is involved in the optimal use of AAV vectors in human gene therapy.

Actin is a muscle protein localized in the I band of the myofibrils; acting along with myosin, it is responsible for contraction and relaxation of muscle. Each actin protomer binds one molecule of ATP and has one high affinity site for either calcium or magnesium ions, as well as several low affinity sites. Actin exists as a monomer in low salt concentrations, but filaments form rapidly as salt concentration rises, with the consequent hydrolysis of ATP. It occurs in globular (G-actin) and fibrous (F-actin) forms. Actin is found in all eukaryotic cells (except for nematode sperm). Actin is one of the most highly-conserved proteins, differing by no more than 20% in species as diverse as algae and humans. Its other functions include cell motility, cell division and cytokinesis, vesicle and organelle movement, cell signaling, and the establishment and maintenance of cell junctions and cell shape.

The three isoenzymes (MM, MB, and BB) are found in muscle, cardiac and brain tissues. These recombinant proteins are ideal for calibrating diagnostic instruments and researching neuromuscular diseases. Creatine Kinases can be used for indications in many neuromuscular applications. These disorders include cardiac disease, mitochondrial disorders, inflammatory myopathies, myasthenia, polymyositis, McArdle's disease, NMJ disorders, muscular dystrophy, ALS, hypo and hyperthyroid disorders, central core disease, acid maltase deficiency, myoglobinuria, rhabdomyolysis, motor neuron diseases, rheumatic diseases, and other that create elevated or reduced levels of Creatine Kinases.

ADP-ribosylation factor-like protein 9 (ARL9) is a member of to 2 novel subfamilies coding for small GTPases that were found to be highly conserved among eukaryotes.

SPA17 is a protein present at the cell surface. SPA17 was characterized by its participation in the binding of sperm to the zona pellucida of the oocyte. The central portion of SPA17 has carbohydrate binding motifs and likely takes part in cell-cell adhesion functions such as immune cell migration and metastasis.

C1QTNF1 is a novel adipokine, providing a significant framework to further address the physiological functions and mechanisms of the action of this family of secreted glycoproteins in normal and disease states. C1QTNF1 increases the production of aldosterone. C1QTNF1 is vastly expressed in obese subjects as well as up-regulated in hypertensive patients, C1QTNF1 is identified molecular link between obesity and hypertension. C1QTNF1 expression may be associated with a low-grade chronic inflammation status in adipose tissues.

CCDC101 is known as a subunit of the SAGA (Spt-Ada-Gcn5 acetyltransferase) histone acetyltransferase complex in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. CCDC101 is conserved from yeast to humans.

Inositol Hexakisphosphate Kinase 2 (IP6K2) which is a part of the inositol IPK family converts inositol hexakisphosphate to diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate. IP6K2 also converts 1, 3, 4, 5, 6-pentakisphosphate (InsP5) to PP-InsP4. IP6K2 is a protein coding gene which suppresses the growth and affects the apoptotic activities of IFN-beta in several ovarian cancers.

GCSF is a cytokine that controls the production, differentiation, and function of granulocytes. The active protein is found extracellularly. Three transcript variants encoding three different isoforms have been found for the GCSF gene. Granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factors are cytokines that act in hematopoiesis by controlling the production, differentiation, and function of 2 related white cell populations of the blood, the granulocytes and the monocytes-macrophages. This csf induces granulocytes.

NECTIN3, also known as Nectin Cell Adhesion Molecule 3, is part of the nectin family. NECTIN3 is intended to initiate cell-cell adhesion to stimulate cell attachment and to allow subsequent formation of JAM-and cadherin-based intercellular junctions. NECTIN3 induces endocytosis-mediated down-regulation of PVR from the cell surface, which results in reduction of cell movement & proliferation. Following Nectin-3 activity adds strength to the junction through trans-interaction with various molecules.

S100A8 is a part of the S100 family of proteins containing 2 EF-hand calcium-binding motifs. S100 proteins are localized in the cytoplasm and/or nucleus of a broad range of cells, and participate in the regulation of cellular processes such as cell cycle progression and differentiation. S100A8 plays a role in the inhibition of casein kinase and as a cytokine. S100A8 altered expression is related with cystic fibrosis disease. S100A8 is a calcium-binding protein that has antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi.S100A8 is crucial for resistance towards invasion by pathogenic bacteria. S100A8 up-regulates transcription of genes that are under the control of NF-kappa-B. S100A8 plays a role in the development of endotoxic shock in response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide. S100A8 endorses tubulin polymerization and promotes phagocyte migration and infiltration of granulocytes at sites of wounding. S100A8 takes part as a pro-inflammatory mediator in acute and chronic inflammation and up-regulates the release of IL8 and cell-surface expression of ICAM1.

AKR1C1 transfers progesterone to its inactive state or in other words catalyzes the reaction of 20-alpha-hydroxy progesterone (20-alpha-OHP). In the liver and intestine. AKR1C1 transfers bile and monitors the intrahepatic bile acid concentration though it has a low bile-binding ability. AKR1C1 participates in myelin formation. AKR1C1 is part of the aldo/keto reductase superfamily, which has over 40 known enzymes which catalyze the conversion of aldehydes and ketones to their corresponding alcohols by utilizing NADH and/or NADPH as cofactors thus display overlapping but distinct substrate specificity.

BNIP1 belongs to the of the BCL2/adenovirus E1B 19 kd-interacting protein (BNIP) family. BNIP1 interacts with the E1B 19 kDa protein, which defends cells from virally-induced cell death. In addition, BNIP1 interacts with E1B 19 kDa-like sequences of BCL2 which is an additional apoptotic protector. Adding up, BNIP1 is implicated in vesicle transport into the endoplasmic reticulum. Alternative splicing results of BNIP1 in four protein products with identical N- and C-termini have been found.

C1QBP having the accession number of NP_001203 binds to the globular "heads" of c1q thus inhibiting c1 activation. C1QBP interacts with a wide range of ligands and is implicated in cell signaling. C1QBP associates with C1r and C1s in order to yield the first component of the serum complement system. C1QBP protein has been identified as the p32 subunit of pre-mRNA splicing factor SF2, as well as a hyaluronic acid-binding protein.
C1QBP is a new marker of tumor cells and tumor-associated macrophages/myeloid cells in hypoxic/metabolically deprived areas of tumors.
Mitochondrial C1QBP is a critical mediator of p14ARF-induced apoptosis.
C1QBP functions as a chemotactic factor for immature dendritic cells, and migration is mediated through ligation of both C1QBP and cC1qR/CR.
C1QBP overexpression successfully blocks mRNA accumulation from the adenovirus major late transcription unit (MLTU) and stimulates RNA polymerase II carboxy-terminal domain phosphorylation in virus-infected cells.
C1QBP binds with Hepacivirus core protein on CD8+ and CD4+ positive t-cells and inactivates lck and akt.

Ferritin is a fairly large, iron-storage heteropolymeric protein composed of 2 subunit types, light Ferritin & heavy Ferritin polypeptides, which is expressed in most kinds of cells and co-assemble in different proportion in a tissue-specific manner. Ferritin is composed of 24 self-assembled polypeptide subunits of the heavy and light ferritin chains and is characterized by the capacity to remove Fe (II) from solution in the presence of oxygen.
Ferritin light polypeptide protein is the main intracellular iron storage protein in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Variation in ferritin subunit composition influence the rates of iron uptake and release in various tissues. A key function of ferritin is the storage of iron in a soluble and nontoxic state. Defects in this light chain ferritin gene are associated with several neurodegenerative diseases and hyper ferrit anemia-cataract syndrome.
Ferritin stores iron in a soluble, nontoxic, readily accessible form. Ferritin is needed for iron homeostasis. Iron is taken up in the ferrous form and deposited as ferric hydroxides after it has been oxidized.

Proteasome subunit alpha type 4 (PSMA4) belongs to the peptidase T1A family, which is a 20S core alpha subunit. The proteasome is a multicatalytic proteinase complex with an extremely ordered ring-shaped 20S core structure. The core structure is comprised of 4 rings of 28 non-identical subunits; 2 rings are composed of 7 alpha subunits and 2 rings are composed of 7 beta subunits. PSMA4 is dispersed throughout eukaryotic cells at a high concentration and cleaves peptides in an ATP/ubiquitin-dependent process in a non-lysosomal pathway.

COP9 Signalosome Subunit 7A (COPS7A) is a component of the COP9 signalosome complex (CSN), a complex involved in a variety of cellular and developmental processes. The CSN complex is a vital regulator of the ubiquitin (Ubl) conjugation pathway by mediating the deneddylation of the cullin subunits of SCF-type E3 ligase complexes, thus leading to decrease in the Ubl ligase activity of SCF-type complexes such as SCF, CSA or DDB2. This complex is also involved in phosphorylation of p53/TP53, JUN, I-kappa-B-alpha/NFKBIA, ITPK1 and IRF8/ICSBP, probably through its association with CK2 and PKD kinases. CSN-dependent phosphorylation of TP53 and JUN stimulates and protects degradation by the Ubl system, respectively.

BSND is a vital beta subunit for CLC chloride channels. These heteromeric channels are restricted to basolateral membranes of renal tubules and of potassium-secreting epithelia of the inner ear. BSND gene mutations are linked with Bartter syndrome with sensorineural deafness.

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), also called Human herpes virus 4 (HHV-4), is a virusof the herpes family (which includes Herpes simplex virusand Cytomegalo virus. On infecting the B-lymphocyte, the linear virus genome circularizes and the virus subsequently persists within the cell as an episome. The virus can execute several distinct programs of gene expressionwhich can be broadly categorized as being lytic cycle or latent cycle. The lytic cycleor productive infection results in staged expression of a host of viral proteinswith the ultimate objective of producing infectious virions. Formally, this phase of infection does not inevitably lead to lysis of the host cellas EBV virions are produced by budding from the infected cell. The latent cycle(lysogenic) programs are those that do not result in production of virions. A very limited, distinct set of viral proteins are produced during latent cycle infection. These include Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen(EBNA)-1, EBNA-2, EBNA-3A, EBNA-3B, EBNA-3C, EBNA-leader protein (EBNA-LP) and latent membrane proteins(LMP)-1, LMP-2A and LMP-2B and the Epstein-Barr encoded RNAs(EBERs).

Fibronectin takes part in several cellular processes, including tissue repair, embryogenesis, blood clotting, and cell migration/adhesion.Plasma fibronectin level is elevated in severe coronary artery disease. Increased plasma fibronectin levels are related with venous thromboembolism (VTE) particularly in males, and extend the probable association between biomarkers and risk factors for arterial atherothrombosis and VTE. Fibronectin consists in 2 main forms: 1) as an insoluble glycoprotein dimer that serves as a linker in the etracellular matrix and 2) as a soluble disulphide linked dimer found in the plasma. The plasma form is produced by hepatocytes, and the ECM form is synthesized by fibroblasts, chondrocytes, endothelial cells, macrophages, as well as certain epithelial cells. Fibronectin alos takes part as a general cell adhesion molecule by anchoring cells to collagen or proteoglycan substrates. Fibronectin organizes cellular interaction with the ECM by binding to different components of the extracellular matrix and to membrane-bound Fibronectin receptors on cell surfaces.

Myostatin (GDF-8) is expressed uniquely in human skeletal muscle as a 12 kDa mature glycoprotein consisting of 113 amino acid residues and secreted into plasma. Myostatin is a member of the transforming growth factor ? superfamily of secreted growth and differentiation factors that is essential for proper regulation of skeletal muscle mass. Studies have shown that myostatin could play an important role in cardiac development and physiology.

Yersinia enterocolitica is a Gram-negative bacillus-shaped bacterium, which is a member of the Enterobacteriaceae family. Y.Enterocolitica is motile at temperatures between 22-29°C, however becomes non-motile at normal human body temperature. Y. Enterocolitica infection causes the yersiniosis disease, which is an animal-borne disease occurring in humans, as well as in a various groups of animals such as cattle, deer, pigs, and birds. Yersinia enterocolitica is a heterogeneous group of strains, which are conventionally classified by bio-typing into six bio-groups on the basis of phenotypic characteristics, and by serotyping into more than 57 “O” serogroups, on the basis of their O (lipopolysaccharide or LPS) surface antigen. Five of the six biogroups (1B and 2–5) are considered as pathogens. Nevertheless, only a few of these serogroups have been linked with disease in either humans or animals. Strains which belong to serogroups O:3 (biogroup 4), O:5,27 (biogroups 2 and 3), O:8 (biogroup 1B), and O:9 (biogroup 2) are most frequently isolated worldwide from human samples. Still, the main Y. enterocolitica serogroup in many European countries is serogroup O:3 followed by O:9, whereas the serogroup O:8 is mostly detected in the United States.