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RANKL binds to tnfrsf11b/opg and to tnfrsf11a/rank. Osteoclast differentiation and activation factor. Augments the ability of dendritic cells to stimulate naive t-cell proliferation. May be an important regulator of interactions between t-cells and dendritic cells and may play a role in the regulation of the t-cell-dependent immune response. sRANKL may also play an important role in enhanced bone-resorption in humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy.

The hematopoietic growth factor GM-CSF or granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, stimulates the development of neutrophils & macrophages, enhance proliferation and development of early erythroid megakaryocytic & eosinophilic progenitor cells. GM-CSF is secreted from the fibroblasts, monocytes, T-lymphocytes & endothelial cells. This protein blocks the migration of neutrophils & induces the biological activity of mature end-cells.

NCR2 is a member of the natural cytotoxicity receptor (NCR) family and holds 1 immunoglobulin-like (Ig-like) domain. NCR2 cooperates with TYROBP/DAP12 and is specifically expressed by activated NK cells and by in vitro cultured TCRg/d lymphoid cells. NCR2 is a cytotoxicity-activating receptor which induces the amplified efficiency of activated natural killer (NK) cells to mediate tumor cell lysis.

CMC4 is a downstream 8kDa protein restricts to mitochondria which was identified by participation in some t(X;14) translocations related with mature T-cell proliferations. This region has a compound gene structure, with a common promoter and 5’ exon spliced to two different groups of 3’ exons which encode 2 separate proteins.

sRANK Receptor is a part of of the TNF superfamily of ligands and receptors which participates in the regulation of specific immunity and bone turnover. sRANK Receptor was originally acknowledged as a dendritic-cell-membrane protein, which by interacting with RANKL augments the capacity of dendritic cells to stimulate naive T cell proliferation and to endorse the survival of RANK and T cells. The full length human RANK cDNA encodes a type I transmembrane protein of 616 amino acids with a predicted 183 amino acid extracellular domain and a 383 amino acid cytoplasmic domain. sRANK Receptor is also expressed in a various tissues including skeletal muscle, thymus, liver, colon, small intestine and adrenal gland.

Chromosome 10 Open Reading Frame 54, also known as C10ORF54 is part of the immunoglobulin superfamily. Like a transmembrane molecule, C10ORF54 is expressed in the bone on embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and on tumor cell surface as well. Accordingly, C10ORF54 supports the differentiation of ESC and ehhances BMP4 induced signaling in ESC, however C10ORF54 is also down regulated following to BMP4 exposure.

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. CSF-1 induces cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage. It plays a role in immunological defenses, bone metabolism, lipoproteins clearance, fertility and pregnancy.

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.

The La protein is a 47 kDa polypeptide that frequently acts as an autoantigen in systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjogren's syndrome patients. La is involved in various aspects of RNA metabolism, including binding and protecting 3-prime UUU(OH) elements of newly RNA polymerase III - transcribed RNA, processing 5-prime and 3-prime ends of pre-tRNA precursors, acting as an RNA chaperone, and binding viral RNAs linked to hepatitis C virus. It occurs in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm, where it assumes different roles. In the nucleus, La protein facilitates the production of tRNAs, acting as an RNA polymerase III (RNAP III) transcription factor by attaching to the U-rich 3'UTR of nascent transcripts, aiding in their folding and maturation. In the cytoplasm, La protein facilitates the translation of specific mRNAs, acting as a translation factor. As an RNA binding protein (RBP), La protein associates with subsets of mRNAs which contain a 5'-terminal oligopyrimidine (5'TOP) motif known to direct protein synthesis. The binding of La protein to particular classes of RNA molecules regulates their downstream processing, guards them from endonuclease digestion, and organizes their export from the nucleus. La/SS-B appears to be readily disposed to proteolysis, which results in many smaller (42kD, 320, and 270) nevertheless still immunoreactive polypeptides. La/SS-B antigen is strongly conserved across species. Anti-La/SS-B autoantibodies were originally found as precipitating autoantibodies in sera of Sjogren's Syndrome patients and referred to as SjT. Anti-La/SS-B precipitins are most frequently found in Sjogren's Syndrome, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and Subacute Cutaneous Lupus. Also, there seems to be a correlation between anti-La/SS-B and the absence of nephritis in SLE patients.

Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor 2DL4, also known as KIR2DL4 is part of the killer cell Ig-like receptor (KIR) family. KIR proteins with the long cytoplasmic domain transduce inhibitory signals through an immune tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM), whereas KIR proteins which contain the short cytoplasmic domain, lack the ITIM motif and as a substitute associate with the TYRO protein tyrosine kinase binding protein to transduce activating signals. KIR2DL4 stimulates NK cells to produce IFN-gamma and stimulation with IL-2 upregulates cell surface expression on CD56dimcells and leads to the inhibition of the cytolytic NK cell function.

Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 10 (CXCL10) is a small cytokine belonging to the CXC chemokine family. CXCL10 is secreted by several cell types. These cell types include monocytes, endothelial cells and fibroblasts. CXCL10 has been attributed to several roles, such as chemoattraction for monocytes and T cells, promotion of T cell adhesion to endothelial cells, antitumor activity, and inhibition of bone marrow colony formation and angiogenesis. The gene for CXCL10 is located on human chromosome 4 in a cluster among several other CXC chemokines. This chemokine elicits its effects by binding to the cell surface chemokine receptor CXCR3. The three-dimensional crystal structure of this chemokine has been determined under 3 different conditions to a resolution of up to 1.92A.

SDF-1 (stromal cell-derived factor-1) is small cytokine belonging to the chemokine family that is officially designated Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 12 (CXCL12). It is produced in two forms, SDF-1?/CXCL12a and SDF-1?/CXCL12b, by alternate splicing of the same gene. Chemokines are characterized by the presence of four conserved cysteines, which form two disulfide bonds. The CXCL12 proteins belong to the group of CXC chemokines, whose initial pair of cysteines are separated by one intervening amino acid. CXCL12 is strongly chemotactic for lymphocytes and has been implicated as an important cell co-ordinator during development. During embryogenesis it directs the migration of hematopoietic cells from foetal liver to bone marrow. Mice which were knocked-out for CXCL12 gene were lethal before the birth or within just 1 hour of life. As another role, CXCL12a alters also the electrophysiology of neurons. CXCL12 was shown to be expressend in many tissues in mice (including brain, thymus, heart, lung, liver, kidney, spleen and bone marrow).
The receptor for this chemokine is CXCR4, which was previously called fusin. This CXCL12-CXCR4 interaction used to be considered exclusive (unlike for other chemokines and their receptors), but recently it was suggested that CXCL12 is also bound by CXCR7 receptor.
The gene for CXCL12 is located on human chromosome 10. In human and mouse both CXCL12 and CXCR4 show high identity of sequence: 99% and 90%, respectively.

Platelet factor-4 is a 70-amino acid protein that is released from the alpha-granules of activated platelets and binds with high affinity to heparin. Its major physiologic role appears to be neutralization of heparin-like molecules on the endothelial surface of blood vessels, thereby inhibiting local antithrombin III activity and promoting coagulation. As a strong chemoattractant for neutrophils and fibroblasts, PF4 probably has a role in inflammation and wound repair. Oncostatin-A is a member of the CXC chemokine family. Human PF4 is used for the proof of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. Furthermore it is used as an inhibitor in the angiogenesis during tumor therapy.

Regulated upon Activation, Normal T-cell Expressed, and Secreted or RANTES is an 8 kDa protein classified as a chemotactic cytokine or chemokine. It has recently been renamed CCL5. RANTES is chemotactic for T cells, eosinophils and basophils and plays an active role in recruiting leukocytes into inflammatory sites. With the help of particular cytokines (i.e. IL-2 and IFN-?) that are released by T cells, RANTES also induces the proliferation and activation of certain natural killer (NK) cells to form CHAK (CC-Chemokine-activated killer) cells. It is also a HIV-suppressive factor released from CD8+ T cells. This chemokine has been localized to chromosome 17 in humans.

RANKL binds to tnfrsf11b/opg and to tnfrsf11a/rank. Osteoclast differentiation and activation factor. Augments the ability of dendritic cells to stimulate naive t-cell proliferation. May be an important regulator of interactions between t-cells and dendritic cells and may play a role in the regulation of the t-cell-dependent immune response. sRANKL may also play an important role in enhanced bone-resorption in humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy. By injecting soluble RANKL, novel osteopenia model mice were established in only 50 hours. Degree of bone loss can be controlled by changing doses of sRANKL. RANKL can be used in establishing osteopenia model for in vivo screening of drugs for osteoporosis, determination of effect and mechanism, evaluation of bone anabolic drugs.

ICOS (inducible T-cell costimulatory) belongs to the CD28 family of immune-assisted stimulatory receptors. ICOS forms homodimers and takes a significant part in immune responses, cell-cell signaling, as well as regulation of cell proliferation. The interaction of B7-H2 / ICOS takes a vital role in T-cell differentiation, T-B cell interaction in addition to humoral immune response is essential for the formation of reproductive centers as well as the production of cytokine IL-4. Moreover, ICOS is more effective in inducing IL-10 production, a cytokine which is important for the inhibitory function of T regulatory cells. The ICOS-B7RP-1 and B7-1 / B7-2-CD28 / CTLA-4 pathways offer a significant second signal which can regulate the inhibition, activation and fine regulation of T-lymphocyte responses. ICOS stimulates the production of Th1 and Th2 cytokines, however it can also participate in the generation of Th2 cells.

Zinc Finger HIT-Type Containing 3 (ZNHIT3) which contains one HIT-type zinc finger, requires the presence of thyroid hormone for its interaction. Thyroid receptor interacting proteins particularly interact with the ligand binding domain of the thyroid receptor (TR).

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. MCSF induces cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage. MCSF plays a role in immunological defenses, bone metabolism, lipoproteins clearance, fertility and pregnancy.

Neutrophil Cytosolic Factor 4 (NCF4) is a cytosolic regulatory factor of the superoxide-producing phagocyte NADPH-oxidase, which is a multicomponent enzyme system imperative for host defense. The NCF4 protein is preferentially expressed in cells of myeloid lineage. NCF4 interacts mainly with neutrophil cytosolic factor 2 (NCF2/p67-phox) to create a complex with neutrophil cytosolic factor (NCF1/p47-phox), which further interacts with the small G protein RAC1 and translocates to the membrane upon cell stimulation. This complex subsequently activates flavocytochrome b, the membrane-integratedcatalytic core of the enzyme system. The PX domain of the NCF4 protein can bind phospholipid products of the PI(3) kinase, suggesting its part in PI(3) kinase-mediated signaling events. The phosphorylation of the NCF4 protein negatively regulates the enzyme activity.

Cytoglobin is a globin protein found in the brain and is mainly utilized in marine mammals. CYGB acts a a protector under conditions of hypoxia. The suggested function of CYGB is the modulation of oxygen and nitric oxide metabolism or scavenging free radicals within a cell.

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.

Wheat Gliadin and related gluten components from barley, rye and possibly oats can cause an abnormal immune response called Celiac disease which is a chronic gastrointestinal disorder. Celiac disease characteristics are flattening of the jejunal mucosa and intestinal lesions of variable severity in hereditarily inclined individuals. Even though Celiac disease is not a classic autoimmune disease it is related to anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies and gliadin antibodies tests are most recommended in screening populations at risk for CD and other gluten-sensitive enteropathies. In the past, serologic tests for gliadin antibodies usually were not very precise and were not enough for accurate diagnosis due to missing deamidated epitopes within the authentic gliadin fraction traditionally used in diagnostic test kits. ProSpec's deamidated Gliadin isoform matches to the deamidated neo-epitopes, which in the natural antigen are formed by transglutaminase-mediated glutamine side chain deamidation.

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.

SDF-1 (stromal cell-derived factor-1) is small cytokine belonging to the chemokine family that is officially designated Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 12 (CXCL12). It is produced in two forms, SDF-1?/CXCL12a and SDF-1?/CXCL12b, by alternate splicing of the same gene. Chemokines are characterized by the presence of four conserved cysteines, which form two disulfide bonds. The CXCL12 proteins belong to the group of CXC chemokines, whose initial pair of cysteines are separated by one intervening amino acid. CXCL12 is strongly chemotactic for lymphocytes and has been implicated as an important cell co-ordinator during development. During embryogenesis it directs the migration of hematopoietic cells from foetal liver to bone marrow. Mice which were knocked-out for CXCL12 gene were lethal before the birth or within just 1 hour of life. As another role, CXCL12a alters also the electrophysiology of neurons. CXCL12 was shown to be expressend in many tissues in mice (including brain, thymus, heart, lung, liver, kidney, spleen and bone marrow).
The receptor for this chemokine is CXCR4, which was previously called fusin. This CXCL12-CXCR4 interaction used to be considered exclusive (unlike for other chemokines and their receptors), but recently it was suggested that CXCL12 is also bound by CXCR7 receptor.
The gene for CXCL12 is located on human chromosome 10. In human and mouse both CXCL12 and CXCR4 show high identity of sequence: 99% and 90%, respectively.