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BDNF promotes the survival of neuronal populations that are all located either in the central nervous system or directly connected to it. Major regulator of synaptic transmission and plasticity at adult synapses in many regions of the cns. the versatility of bdnf is emphasized by its contribution to a range of adaptive neuronal responses including long-term potentiation (ltp), long-term depression (ltd), certain forms of short-term synaptic plasticity, as well as homeostatic regulation of intrinsic neuronal excitability.

GH is a member of the somatotropin/prolactin family of hormones which play an important role in growth control. The gene, along with four other related genes, is located at the growth hormone locus on chromosome 17 where they are interspersed in the same transcriptional orientation; an arrangement which is thought to have evolved by a series of gene duplications. The five genes share a remarkably high degree of sequence identity. Alternative splicing generates additional isoforms of each of the five growth hormones, leading to further diversity and potential for specialization. This particular family member is expressed in the pituitary but not in placental tissue as is the case for the other four genes in the growth hormone locus. Mutations in or deletions of the gene lead to growth hormone deficiency and short stature.

LGALS2 is a soluble beta-galactoside binding lectin that controls cell-to-cell adhesion and cell-to-extracellular matrix interactions and takes part in tumor progression, pre-mRNA splicing and apoptosis. LGALS2 induces apoptosis in activated T cells and binds to the cytokine lymphotoxin-alpha (LTA) with threat of myocardial infarction.

Alpha-hemoglobin stabilizing protein (AHSP) is an erythroid-specific protein that acts as a chaperone to prevent the aggregation of A-hemoglobin during normal erythroid cell development. AHSP specifically protects free A-hemoglobin from precipitation in live cells and in solution. AHSP is expected to modulate pathological states of alpha-hemoglobin excess such as beta-thalassemia. Furthermore, AHSP promotes alpha globin chain stability in human erythropoiesis. In addition, the AHSP stabilizes the alpha-Hb chain, thus avoiding its precipitation and its ability to generate ROS, which is implicated in cell death. AHSP is expressed in blood and bone marrow. AHSP subunit is a monomer, it forms a heterodimer with free alpha-hemoglobin. On the other hand, AHSP does not bind beta-hemoglobin nor alpha2beta2 hemoglobin A. AHSP is downregulated in TSEs (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies).

IL-12 is a heterodimeric cytokine that stimulates the production of IFNgamma from T-cells and natural killer cells, and also induces differentiation of Th1 helper cells. IL-12 is an initiator of cell-mediated immunity.

EPGN is an EGF-related polypeptide growth factor that signals through the ErbB receptor-1. EPGN is produced in numerous tissues, including the testis, liver, heart and in certain tumor cells. EPGN is mitogenic for fibroblasts and epithelial cells. Human EPGN is originally synthesized as a glycosylated 14.7 kDa transmembrane precursor protein, which is processed by proteolytic cleavage to produce a mature soluble sequence.

Arfaptin 2 (ARFIP2) is a Rac1 binding protein essential for Rac-mediated actin polymerization and the succeeding formation of membrane ruffles and lamellipodia. ARFIP2 is a putative target protein of ADP-ribosylation factor. ARFIP2 is also involved in membrane ruffling. ARFIP2 expression is increased at sites of neurodegeneration. In addition, ARFIP2 interacts with the ADP ribosylation factor ARF6, a GTPase which associates with the plasma membrane and intracellular endosome vesicles, in a GTP dependent mode. Furthermore, Arfaptin 2 controls the aggregation of mutant Huntingtin protein by weakening proteasome function.

Growth-Hormone is a member of the somatotropin/prolactin family of hormones which play an important role in growth control. The gene, along with four other related genes, is located at the growth hormone locus on chromosome 17 where they are interspersed in the same transcriptional orientation; an arrangement which is thought to have evolved by a series of gene duplications. The five genes share a remarkably high degree of sequence identity. Alternative splicing generates additional isoforms of each of the five growth hormones, leading to further diversity and potential for specialization. This particular family member is expressed in the pituitary but not in placental tissue as is the case for the other four genes in the growth hormone locus. Mutations in or deletions of the gene lead to growth hormone deficiency and short stature.

Killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), are a family of cell surface glycoproteins found on Natural Killer (NK) Cells, which are important cells of the immune system. They control the killing function of these cells by interacting with MHC class I molecules, which are expressed on all cell types. This interaction allows them to identify virally infected cells or tumor cells that have a distinctive low level of Class I MHC on their surface. The majority of KIRs are inhibitory, which means that their recognition of MHC suppresses the cytotoxic activity of their NK cell. Only a limited number of KIRs have the capacity to activate cells.
The KIR genes are found in a cluster on chromosome 19q13.4 within the 1 Mb leukocyte receptor complex (LRC). KIR molecules are extremely polymorphic, meaning their gene sequences differ significantly between individuals, so that different individuals have different arrays/repertoires of KIR genes.
The KIR proteins are categorized by the number of extracellular immunoglobulin domains (2D or 3D) and by whether they have a long (L) or short (S) cytoplasmic domain. KIR proteins with the long cytoplasmic domain transduce inhibitory signals upon ligand binding via an immune tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM). Whereas KIR proteins with the short cytoplasmic domain lack the ITIM motif and instead associate with the TYRO protein tyrosine kinase binding protein to transduce activating signals.
KIR2DL1 is an inhibitory Killer Cell Ig-like Receptor (KIR, previously called p58 KIR, p58.1, cl-42, NKAT1, or KIR-K6), which recognizes class I MHC molecules (HLA-Cw2, -Cw4, -Cw5, and Cw6). The extracellular domain of KIR2DL1 was over expressed as insoluble protein aggregates (inclusion bodies).

Ubiquitously-expressed transcript (UXT) is a member of the UXT family. UXT serves as a cofactor which modulates androgen receptor-dependent transcription, and also has a crucial role in tumor necrosis factor-induced apoptosis. UXT gene expression has a role in tumorigenesis. UXT is ubiquitous expressed: it is expressed in prostate epithelial cells, overexpressed in a number of tumor tissues. The highest levels are found in the heart, skeletal muscle, pancreas, kidney, liver, adrenal gland, peripheral blood leukocytes, lymph node, prostate, and thyroid and the lowest levels in bladder and uterus.

Insulin decreases blood glucose concentration. it increases cell permeability to monosaccharides, amino acids and fatty acids. it accelerates glycolysis, the pentose phosphate cycle, and glycogen synthesis in liver.

IGFBP5 is a member of the insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP) family and encodes a protein with an IGFBP domain and a thyroglobulin type-I domain. The protein forms a ternary complex with insulin-like growth factor acid-labile subunit (IGFALS) and either insulin-like growth factor (IGF) I or II. In this form, it circulates in the plasma, prolonging the half-life of IGFs and altering their interaction with cell surface receptors. Alternate transcriptional splice variants, encoding different isoforms, have been characterized.

ELL Associated Factor 1 (EAF1) is a part of the EAF family and is expressed mainly in heart, brain, placenta, lung, liver, skeletal muscle, kidney, pancreas, spleen, prostate, testis, small intestine and colon. EAF1 plays a role as a transcriptional transactivator of ELL and ELL2 elongation activities.

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.

IGF-2 is a member of the INS family of polypeptide growth factors that is involved in development and growth. It is an imprinted gene and is expressed only from the paternally inherited allele. It is a candidate gene for eating disorders. There is a read-through, INS-IGF2, which aligns to this gene at the 3' region and to the upstream INS gene at the 5' region. Two alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding the same protein have been found for this gene.

Omentin is a recently recognized gene highly localized to the mental tissue (visceral adipose tissue). Omentin is present in the stromal vascular cells in the adipose tissue rather than in the adipocytes. Omentin is predominantly expressed in the visceral adipose tissue than the subcutaneous tissue, with the omentin mRNA being 150 times higher in the visceral adipose tissue. Omentin has also been detected in human blood using western blot analysis, and seems to increase insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes in mice. Omentin seems to increase Akt phosphorylation irrespective of insulin presence. Its role in glucose metabolism and obesity remains to be described; an insulin-sensitizing action is possible.Differences in Omentin expression has been noted in adipose tissue from normals and patients with inflammatory bowel disease although its significance is unknown.

GABARAPL2 takes part in intra Golgi traffic and modulates intra Golgi transport by coupling between NSF activity and SNAREs activation. GABARAPL2 first stimulates the ATPase activity of NSF which in turn stimulates the association with GOSR1.

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.

The Melanoma Inhibitory protein (MIA) was identified as an inhibitor of in vitro growth of malignant melanoma cells. The protein contains a SH3 domain.
MIA acts as a potent tumor cell growth inhibitor for malignant melanoma cells and some other neuroectodermal tumors, including gliomas, in an autocrine fashion. In a study of human melanoma cell lines with different metastatic capacity MIA mRNA expression appeared to be inversely correlated with pigmentation. MIA has been shown to represent a very sensitive and specific serum marker for systemic malignant melanoma that might be useful for staging of primary melanomas, detection of progression from localized to metastatic disease during follow-up, and monitoring therapy of advanced melanomas.

Mitochondrial Ribosome Recycling Factor (MRRF) is a member of the RRF family. MRRF attaches to the large ribosomal subunit in the cleft which has a peptidyl transferase center. MRRF controls the release of ribosome from messenger RNA at the termination of protein biosynthesis. Also, it may intensify the efficacy of translation by recycling ribosome from one round of translation to another.

Killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), are a family of cell surface glycoproteins found on Natural Killer (NK) Cells, which are important cells of the immune system. They control the killing function of these cells by interacting with MHC class I molecules, which are expressed on all cell types. This interaction allows them to identify virally infected cells or tumor cells that have a distinctive low level of Class I MHC on their surface. The majority of KIRs are inhibitory, which means that their recognition of MHC suppresses the cytotoxic activity of their NK cell. Only a limited number of KIRs have the capacity to activate cells.
The KIR genes are found in a cluster on chromosome 19q13.4 within the 1 Mb leukocyte receptor complex (LRC). KIR molecules are extremely polymorphic, meaning their gene sequences differ significantly between individuals, so that different individuals have different arrays/repertoires of KIR genes.
The KIR proteins are categorized by the number of extracellular immunoglobulin domains (2D or 3D) and by whether they have a long (L) or short (S) cytoplasmic domain. KIR proteins with the long cytoplasmic domain transduce inhibitory signals upon ligand binding via an immune tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM). Whereas KIR proteins with the short cytoplasmic domain lack the ITIM motif and instead associate with the TYRO protein tyrosine kinase binding protein to transduce activating signals.
The three Ig-domain from of inhibitory killer cell Ig-like receptor 1(KIR3DL1, NKB1, nkat3, p70KIR) is a NK cell receptor for polymorphic HLA-B determinant. KIR3DLl recognizes the Bw4 determinant defined by sequence motifs at positions 77-83 of the HLA-B heavy chain. The cytoplasmic tail of KIR, which contains two immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motifs (ITIMs), mediates inhibitory signal transduction that prevents killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity. A His-tag fusion protein of KIR3DL1 cytoplasmic tail (361-444aa) was overexpressed as insoluble protein aggregates (inclusion bodies).

Pleiotrophin (Osteoblast-Specific Factor-1, OSF-1) contains 136 amino acid residues. The sequence is very rich in cationic amino acids (24% of the residues); lysine cluster sequences are found in the N-terminal and C-terminal ends of the structure.
The OSF-1 gene was shown by Northern blotting analysis to be expressed in mouse calvarial osteoblast-enriched cells and in mouse brain tissues, but not in thymus, spleen, kidney, liver, lung, testis or heart. Pleiotrophin has the ability to promote adhesion, migration, expansion, and differentiation of human osteoprogenitor cells. In addition to certain types of cancer, the embryonic growth and differentiation factor pleiotrophin is found also in adults in inflammatory diseases. In osteoarthritis, pleiotrophin is especially expressed in early stages, and its concentrations in the synovial fluid could serve as a marker for the progress of the disease. Pleitrophin might be involved in cartilage repair in osteoarthritis, in particular, in earlier stages.