Search results

S100A9 is part of the S100 family of proteins containing 2 EF-hand calcium-binding motifs. S100A9 protein is localized in the cytoplasm and/or nucleus of a wide range of cells, and participates in the regulation of several cellular processes such as cell cycle progression and differentiation. S100 genes include no less than 13 proteins which are localized as a cluster on chromosome 1q21. S100A9 is involved in the inhibition of casein kinase and altered expression of this protein is associated with the disease cystic fibrosis.

Tumor necrosis factor is a member of a group of cytokines that all stimulate the acute phase reaction. TNF is involved in systemic inflammationand secreted mainly by macrophages.
TNF causes apoptotic cell death, cellular proliferation, differentiation, inflammation, tumorigenesis and viral replication, TNF is also involved in lipid metabolism, and coagulation. TNF's primary role is in the regulation of immune cells.
Dysregulation and, in particular, overproduction of TNF have been implicated in a variety of human diseases- autoimmune diseases, insulin resistance, and cancer.

LAIR1 is a glycoprotein expressed on the surface of the majority of human peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes including T cells, B cells, NK cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. LAIR-1 functions as an inhibitory receptor in NK cells, T cells and B cells. Inhibitory receptors control the immune response to prevent lysis of cells recognized as self. Lair1 consists of a leader sequence, extracellular domain, transmembrane domain, cytoplasmic region.LAIR1 is a member of both the immunoglobulin superfamily and the leukocyte-associated inhibitory receptor family. LAIR1 maps to a region of 19q13.4 labeled the leukocyte receptor cluster, which contains at least 29 genes encoding leukocyte-expressed receptors of the immunoglobulin superfamily.

Resistin, a product of the RSTN gene, is a peptide hormone belongs to the class of cysteine-rich secreted proteins (monomeric peptide contains 11 cysteine residues) referred to as the RELM family, and is also described as ADSF (Adipose Tissue-Specific Secretory Factor) or FIZZ3 (Found in Inflammatory Zone 3). Resistin may be an important link between obesity. Mouse resistin, specifically produced and secreted by adipocyte, acts on skeletal muscle myocytes, hepatocytes and adipocytes themselves so that it reduces their sensitivity. Steppan et al. have suggested that resistin suppressed the ability to stimulate glucose uptake. They have also suggested that resistin was present at elevated levels in blood of obese mice, and was down regulated by fasting and by antidiabetic drugs. Way et al., on the other hand, have found that resistin expression is severely suppressed in obesity.
Other studies have shown that mouse resistin increases during the differentiation of adipocytes, but it also seems to inhibit adipogenesis. In contrast, the human adipogenic differentiation is likely to be associated with a down regulation of resistin gene expression.

Clusterin also named Apolipoprotein J (APO-J) is a 75-80 kD disulfide-linked heterodimeric protein containing about 30% of N-linked carbohydrate rich in sialic acid but truncated forms targeted to the nucleus have also been identified.
The precursor polypeptide chain is cleaved proteolytically to remove the 22-mer secretory signal peptide and subsequently between residues 227/228 to generate the a and b chains. These are assembled in anti-parallel to give a heterodimeric molecule in which the cysteine-rich centers are linked by five disulfide bridges and are flanked by two predicted coiled-coil a-helices and three predicted amphipathic a-helices.
Across a broad range of species clusterin shows a high degree of sequence homology ranging from 70% to 80%. It is nearly ubiquitously expressed in most mammalian tissues and can be found in plasma, milk, urine, cerebrospinal fluid and semen.
It is able to bind and form complexes with numerous partners such as immunoglobulins, lipids, heparin, bacteria, complement components, paraoxonase, beta amyloid, leptin and others. Clusterin has been ascribed a plethora of functions such as phagocyte recruitment, aggregation induction, complement attack prevention, apoptosis inhibition, membrane remodeling, lipid transport, hormone transport and/or scavenging, matrix metalloproteinase inhibition.
A genuine function of clusterin has not been defined. One tempting hypothesis says that clusterin is an extracellular chaperone protecting cells from stress induced insults caused by degraded and misfolded protein precipitates.
Clusterin is up- or down regulated on the mRNA or protein level in many pathological and clinically relevant situations including cancer, organ regeneration, infection, Alzheimer disease, retinitis pigmentosa, myocardial infarction, renal tubular damage, autoimmunity and others.

C-Src Tyrosine Kinase, also known as CSK, regulates cell growth, migration, differentiation, and immune response. CSK Phosphorylates tyrosine residues located in the C-terminal tails of Src-family kinases. CSK is a protein coding gene which suppresses signaling by several surface receptors. Among CSK's related pathways are PI-3K cascade and Signaling by FGFR.

Adiponectin is a hormone exclusively expressed from adipose tissue.
Many studies demonstrate that Adiponectin has direct anti-diabetic, anti-atherogenic and anti-inflammatory functions. APM-1 can increase insulin sensitivity of skeletal muscle. Attenuate hepatic lipogenesis and gluconeogenesis, regulate NO production in endothelial cells, inhibit proliferation of smooth muscle cells and prevent lipid accumulation of macrophage cells.
In the circulation, Adiponectin is present as three different oligomeric complexes, including the high molecular weight (HMW), the middle molecular weight (MMW, also called hexamer) and low molecular weigh (MMW, also called trimer) forms 8. Different oligomeric complex of Adiponectin activates different signaling pathways and exerts distinct functions.

Adiponectin, also referred to as Acrp30, AdipoQ and GBP-28, is a recently discovered 244 amino acid protein, the product of the apM1 gene, which is physiologically active and specifically and highly expressed in adipose cells (Adipokine). The protein belongs to the soluble defense collagen super family; it has a collagen-like domain structurally homologous with collagen VIII and X and complement factor C1q-like globular domain. APM-1 forms homotrimers, which are the building blocks for higher order complexes found circulating in serum.

CARD18 belongs to the death-domain-fold superfamily which is induced by proinflammatory stimuli. CARD18 contains basically only a Caspase recruitment domain, inhibits generation of IL-1b by cooperating with caspase-1 and inhibiting connotation with RIP 2. The connotation of CARD18 to caspase-1 is enabled by the charge-charge interactions between the prodomain of caspase-1 and the surface charge of CARD18.

CD83 is a single-pass type I membrane protein and part of the immunoglobulin superfamily of receptors. CD83 involves in the regulation of antigen presentation. A soluble form of CD83 can bind to dendritic cells and inhibit their maturation. There were 3 transcript variants encoding different isoforms for CD83.

Protein Kinase IFN Double Stranded RNA Activator, also known as PRKRA, mediates the effects of interferon when a viral infection takes place. PRKRA activates EIF2AK2/PKR in the absence of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and leads to phosphorylation of EIF2S1/EFI2-alpha and inhibition of translation and induction of apoptosis. Mutations in PRKRA are associated with dystonia.

PTX3 is part of the pentraxin family sharing the C-terminal domain with short pentraxins and containing a unique N-terminal domain. PTX3 is produced and released at inflammatory sites by various cell types including monocytes/macrophages, endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, and adipocytes. PTX3 is involved in the regulation of innate resistance to pathogens, inflammatory reactions, possibly clearance of self-components and female fertility. PTX3 is used as a marker for disease activity of psoriasis. High serum PTX3 levels are associated with the disease severity of systemic sclerosis. Elevated serum PTX3 is associated with pulmonary fungal infections.

IFNs are cytokines that are widely known to induce potent anti-viral activity. IFN-a exerts a variety of other biological effects, including antitumor and immunomodulatory activities and are increasingly used clinically to treat a range of malignancies, myelodysplasias and autoimmune diseases.

4-1BBR is a member of the TNF-receptor superfamily. 4-1BB receptor contributes to the clonal expansion, survival, and development of T cells.4-1BBRcan also induce proliferation in peripheral monocytes, enhance T cell apoptosis induced by TCR/CD3 triggered activation, and regulate CD28 co-stimulation to promote Th1 cell responses. The expression of this receptor is induced by lymphocyte activation. TRAF adaptor proteins have been shown to bind to this receptor and transduce the signals leading to activation of NF-kappaB.

CTLA-4 is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily and encodes a protein which transmits an inhibitory signal to T cells. The protein contains a V domain, a transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic tail. Alternate transcriptional splice variants, encoding different isoforms, have been characterized. The membrane-bound isoform functions as a homodimer interconnected by a disulfide bond, while the soluble isoform functions as a monomer. Mutations in this gene have been associated with ins.-dependent diabetes mellitus, Graves disease, Hashimoto thyroiditis, celiac disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, thyroid-associated orbitopathy, and other autoimmune diseases.

ANGPT1 is an angiogenic factor which intervenes in blood vessel maturation and takes part in endothelial development. ANGPT1 is a secreted ligand for Tie-2, a cell surface receptor tyrosine kinase expressed in endothelial and hemopoietic cells. The glycosylated ANGPT1 protein has a coiled-coil region in the amino terminus and a fibrinogen-like domain at the carboxy terminus.

TARC cDNA encodes a 94 amino acid precursor protein with a 23 amino acid residue signal peptide that is cleaved off to generate the 71 amino acid residue mature secreted protein. Along with CC chemokine family members, CCL-17 has approximately 24-29% amino acid sequence identity with RANTES, MIP-1a, MIP-1b, MCP-1, MCP-2, MCP-3 and I-309. TARC is expressed in thymus, and at a lower level in the lung, colon, and small intestine. TARC is in addition transiently expressed in stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Recombinant TARC has been shown to be chemotactic for T cell lines but not monocytes or neutrophils. CCL-17 was recently identified to be a specific functional ligand for CCR4, a receptor that is selectively expressed on T cells. CCL17 is one of quite a few Cys-Cys (CC) cytokine genes clustered on the q arm of chromosome 16. CCL17 shows chemotactic activity for T lymphocytes, but not monocytes or granulocytes. CCL17 binds to chemokine receptors CCR4 and CCR8. This chemokine plays important roles in T cell development in thymus as well as in trafficking and activation of mature T cells.

LAIR1 is a glycoprotein (~32kDa) expressed on the surface of the majority of human peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes including T cells, B cells, NK cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. LAIR-1 functions as an inhibitory receptor in NK cells, T cells and B cells. Inhibitory receptors control the immune response to prevent lysis of cells recognized as self. Lair1 consists of a leader sequence, extracellular domain, transmembrane domain, cytoplasmic region.
LAIR1 is a member of both the immunoglobulin superfamily and the leukocyte-associated inhibitory receptor family. LAIR1 maps to a region of 19q13.4 labeled the leukocyte receptor cluster, which contains at least 29 genes encoding leukocyte-expressed receptors of the immunoglobulin superfamily.

The WNT gene family consists of structurally related genes that encode secreted signaling proteins. These proteins are implicated in oncogenesis and in several developmental processes, including regulation of cell fate and patterning during embryogenesis. WNT3A is a member of the WNT gene family. WNT3A is a protein which shows 96% amino acid identity to mouse Wnt3A protein, and 84% to human WNT3 protein, another WNT gene product. The WNT3A gene is clustered with WNT14 gene, another family member, in chromosome 1q42 region.

Zinc Finger, CCHC Domain Containing 12 (ZCCHC12) which holds 1 CCHC-type zinc finger is a part of the ZCCHC12 family. ZCCHC12 takes part in the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-signaling pathway as a transcriptional coactivator. BMP signaling is positively modulated as a result of the interaction between ZCCHC12 with SMAD1 and the association with CBP in the transcription complex.

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.

DHH is part of the Hedgehog family which encodes signaling molecules that are involved in regulating morphogenesis. DHH protein is a precursor that is autocatalytically cleaved, the N-terminal portion is soluble and contains the signalling activity while the C-terminal portion is involved in precursor processing. Additionally, the C-terminal product covalently attaches a cholesterol moiety to the N-terminal product, restricting the N-terminal product to the cell surface and preventing it from freely diffusing throughout the organism. Defects in DHH protein have been associated with partial gonadal dysgenesis (PGD) accompanied by minifascicular polyneuropathy. DHH plays a role both male gonadal differentiation and perineurial development.
DHH plays a role in intercellular signaling which is essential for a variety of patterning events during development. DHH functions as a spermatocyte survival factor in the testes & is essential for testes development.

Low affinity immunoglobulin gamma Fc region receptor III-A (FCGR3A) is a receptor for the Fc portion of immunoglobulin G, and is involved in the elimination of antigen-antibody complexes from the circulation, as well as other antibody-dependent responses. FCGR3A needs to associate with the gamma subunit of Fc epsilon. The FCGR3A receptor is expressed on natural killer (NK) cells as an integral membrane glycoprotein anchored through a transmembrane peptide, while FCGR3B is expressed on polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) where the receptor is anchored through a phosphatidylinositol (PI) linkage. In addition, FCGR3A is expressed on macrophages, subpopulation of T-cells, immature thymocytes and placental trophoblasts. FCGR3A mediates antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and other antibody-dependent responses, such as phagocytosis. FCGR3A gene mutations are linked with susceptibility to recurrent viral infections, susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus, and alloimmune neonatal neutropenia.

Tumor necrosis factor is a cytokine involved in systemic inflammation and is a member of a group of cytokines that all stimulate the acute phase reaction. TNF is mainly secreted by macrophages.
TNF causes apoptotic cell death, cellular proliferation, differentiation, inflammation, tumorigenesis and viral replication, TNF is also involved in lipid metabolism, and coagulation. TNF's primary role is in the regulation of immune cells.
Dysregulation and, in particular, overproduction of TNF have been implicated in a variety of human diseases- autoimmune diseases, insulin resistance, and cancer.