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Melanotan and Melanotan-II are both analogs of the peptide hormone alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone (a-MSH) that tend to induce skin tanning. Unlike Melanotan, Melanotan-II has the additional effect of increasing libido. Melanotan II has aphrodisiac properties.

Human Adiponectin is a secreted protein expressed exclusively in differentiated adipocyte (adipokine). Adiponectin contains a modular structure comprising an N-terminal collagenous domain followed by a C-terminal globular domain. APM-1 plays a role in various physiological processes such as energy homeostasis and obesity. Plasma levels of adiponectin are reduced in obese humans, and decreased levels are associated with insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia.

A 16-kDa peptide hormone secreted from white adipocytes and implicated in the regulation of food intake and energy balance. Leptin provides the key afferent signal from fat cells in the feedback system that controls body fat stores.

MAPKSP1 is a scaffold protein which operates in the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) cascade. MAPKSP1 protein is restricted to late endosomes by the mitogen-activated protein-binding protein-interacting protein, and binds specifically to MAP kinase kinase MAP2K1/MEK1, MAP kinase MAPK3/ERK1, and MAP kinase MAPK1/ERK2.

Treponema pallidum is a gram-negative spirochaete bacterium and is considered to be metabolically crippled. There are at least four known subspecies: T. pallidum pallidum, T. pallidum pertenue, T. pallidum carateum and T. pallidum endemicum. The helical structure of T. pallidum pallidum allows it to move in a corkscrew motion through viscous mediums such as mucus. Treponema pallidum sub sp. pallidum has one of the smallest bacterial genomes at 1.14 million base pairs (Mb) and has limited metabolic capabilities, reflecting its adaptation through genome reduction to the rich environment of mammalian tissue.

TBE is caused by tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), a member of the family Flaviviridae.
A closely related virus in Far Eastern Eurasia, Russian spring-summer encephalitis virus (RSSEV).
The family Flaviviridae includes other tick-borne viruses are closely related to TBEV and RSSEV, such as Omsk hemorrhagic fever virus & Kyasanur Forest virus.
Louping ill virus is also a member of this family.

VZV is closely related to the herpes simplex viruses(HSV), sharing much genomehomology. The known envelope glycoproteins (gB, gC, gE, gH, gI, gK, gL) correspond with those in HSV, however there is no equivalent of HSV gD. VZV virons are spherical and 150-200 nm in diameter. Their lipidenvelope encloses the nucleocapsid of 162 capsomeres arranged in a hexagonalform. Its DNAis a single, linear, double-stranded molecule, 125,000 nt long. The virus is very susceptible to disinfectants, notably sodium hypochlorite. Within the body it can be treated by a number of drugs and therapeutic agents including aciclovir, zoster-immune globulin(ZIG), and vidarabine.

AGXT is expressed only in the liver and its protein is localized mostly in the peroxisomes, where it is involved in glyoxylate detoxification. Mutations in the AGXT gene, some of which alter subcellular targetting, have been linked to type I primary hyperoxaluria.

EPM2A is a dual-specificity phosphatase which associates with polyribosomes. The EPM2A protein may be involved in the regulation of glycogen metabolism. Mutations in the EPM2A gene have been linked to myoclonic epilepsy of Lafora.

PA2G4 belongs to the peptidase M24C family and functions as an RNA-binding protein involved in cellular proliferation and differentiation processes. PA2G4 is a component of pre-ribosomal ribonucleoprotein complexes, participating in ribosome assembly and regulating the later steps of rRNA processing. Also, PA2G4 interacts with ErbB-3 and may function as a modulator of the ErbB-3 mediated signal transduction pathway by regulating the effects of Neuregulin-1. Furthermore, PA2G4 is a transcriptional co-repressor of androgen receptor-regulated genes and other cell cycle regulatory genes through its interactions with histone deacetylases. PA2G4 is implicated in growth inhibition and the induction of differentiation of human cancer cells. In addition, PA2G4 mediates cap-independent translation of specific viral IRESs (internal ribosomal entry site). PA2G4 associates with 28S, 18S and 5.8S mature rRNAs, several rRNA precursors and probably U3 small nucleolar RNA.

Recombinant Fatty Acid Binding Protein is a newly introduced plasma marker of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The plasma kinetics of FABP (15kD) closely resemble those of myoglobin in that elevated plasma concentrations are found within 2 hours after AMI and return to normal generally within 18 to 24 hours. But the concentration of FABP in the skeletal muscle is 20 times lower than in cardiac tissue (for myoglobin the same content for cardiac and skeletal tissue), that makes FABP to be more cardiac specific than myoglobin. This makes FABP a useful biochemical marker for the early assessment or exclusion of AMI. FABP also appears to be a useful plasma marker for the estimation of myocardial infarct size.

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).

KGF is a member of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family. FGF family members possess broad mitogenic and cell survival activities, and are involved in a variety of biological processes, including embryonic development, cell growth, morphogenesis, tissue repair, tumor growth and invasion. FGF7 is a potent epithelial cell-specific growth factor, whose mitogenic activity is predominantly exhibited in keratinocytes but not in fibroblasts and endothelial cells. Studies of mouse and rat homologs of this gene implicated roles in morphogenesis of epithelium, reepithelialization of wounds, hair development and early lung organogenesis.

PPIF is a part of the peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) family. PPIF accelerates the folding of proteins. It catalyzes the cis-trans isomerization of proline imidic peptide bonds in oligopeptides. PPIF is key component of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Activation of this pore is thought to be involved in the induction of apoptotic and necrotic cell death.

Eotaxin-2, also called MPIF2 & Ckb6, is a novel CC chemokine produced by activated monocytes and T lymphocytes. Eotaxin-2 selectively chemoattracts cells expressing CCR3 including eosinophils, basophils, Th2 T cells, mast cells, and certain subsets of dendritic cells. Furthermore, Eotaxin-2 inhibits the proliferation of multipotential hematopoietic progenitor cells. The mature protein, which includes C-terminal truncation, contains 78 amino acids (92 amino acids for the mouse homolog, without C-terminal truncation).
CCL24 functions as a chemotactic chemokine for resting t-lymphocytes, and eosinophils. CCL24 has lower chemotactic activity for neutrophils but none for monocytes and activated lymphocytes. CCL24 is a strong suppressor of colony formation by a multipotential hematopoietic progenitor cell line and binds to CCR3.

Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 11 (CCL11) is a small cytokine belonging to the CC chemokine family that is also known as eotaxin. CCL11 selectively recruits eosinophils by inducing their chemotaxis, and therefore, is implicated in allergic responses. The effects of CCL11 are mediated by its binding to a G-protein-linked receptor known as a chemokine receptor. Chemokine receptors for which CCL11 is a ligand include CCR2, CCR3 and CCR5. The gene for human CCL11 (scya11) is encoded on three exons and is located on chromosome 17.

Epidermal growth factor has a profound effect on the differentiation of specific cells in vivo and is a potent mitogenic factor for a variety of cultured cells of both ectodermal and mesodermal origin. The EGF precursor is believed to exist as a membrane-bound molecule which is proteolytically cleaved to generate the 53-amino acid peptide hormone that stimulates cells to divide. EGF stimulates the growth of various epidermal and epithelial tissues in vivo and in vitro and of some fibroblasts in cell culture. Long EGF is a recombinant analog of Human EGF developed as a replacement for use in therapeutic cell culture applications as a like-for-like supplement for Recombinant Human or native EGF. It includes the Human EGF amino acid sequence plus a 53 amino acid N-terminal extension peptide.

Crystallins are the main structural proteins of the vertebrate eye lens, where they maintain the transparency and refractive index of the lens. Crystallins are divided into 3 fprotein families, α, β, & γ families. Because lens central fiber cells lose their nuclei during development, these crystallins are prepared and then retained throughout life, making them extremely stable proteins. CRYBB1 is a beta basic group member and undergoes extensive cleavage at its N-terminal extension during lens maturation.

Cytotoxic and Regulatory T Cell Molecule, also known as CRTAM belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily which complies with the structural characteristics of the JAM family and is phylogenetically more closely related to nectin-like proteins. CRTAM is implicated in epithelial cell adhesion. Furthermore, CRTAM interacts with CADM1 as well as promotes natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity.

ARP3 Actin-Related Protein 3, also known as ACTR3, belongs to the actin family. The specific function of ACTR3 has not been established yet. On the other hand, ACTR3 is identified as being a major constituent of the ARP2/3 complex. In addition, this complex is located at the cell surface and vital to cell shape & motility through lamellipodial actin assembly and protrusion. 3 transcript variants encoding 2 different isoforms have been discovered for ACTR3.