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Heparanase is an endo β-D-glucuronidase, which degrades heparan sulfate side chains of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) in the extracellular matrix. Heparanase plays an important role in ECM degradation, facilitating the migration and extravasation of tumor cells and inflammatory leukocytes (1,2,3). Upon degradation, heparanase releases growth factors and cytokines that stimulate cell proliferation and chemotaxis (4,5). Heparanase is a heterodimer comprised of a 50 kDa subunit harboring the active site and a 8 kDa subunit. It is produced as a latent 65 kDa precursor and proteolytically processed to its active form (1,6). Heparanase is highly expressed in myeloid leukocytes (i.e. neutrophils) in platelets and in human placenta. Human heparanase was found to be upregulated in various types of primary tumors, correlating in some cases with increased tumor invasiveness and vascularity and with poor prospective survival (7,8).

GMFB is part of the GMF subfamily of the larger actin-binding protein ADF family. GMFB is phosphorylated after phorbol ester stimulation, and is crucial for the nervous system. GMFB causes brain cell differentiation, stimulates neural regeneration and inhibits tumor cell proliferation. GMFB overexpression in astrocytes results in the increase of BDNF production. GMFB expression is increased by exercise, thus BDNF is important for exercise-induction of BDNF.

SUMO1 is a protein that belongs to the SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) protein family. SUMO1 functions in a manner similar to ubiquitin in that it is bound to target proteins as part of a post-translational modification system. Still, unlike ubiquitin which targets proteins for degradation, SUMO1 is involved in a variety of cellular processes, for example nuclear transport, transcriptional regulation, apoptosis, and protein stability. SUMO1 is not active until the last four amino acids of the carboxy-terminus are cleaved off.

The protein encoded by this gene is a cytokine that acts as a growth and differentiation factor for both B cells and eosinophils. IL5is a main regulator of eosinopoiesis, eosinophil maturation and activation. The elevated production of IL5is reported to be related to asthma or hypereosinophilic syndromes. The receptor of IL5is a heterodimer, whose beta subunit is shared with the receptors for interleukine 3 (IL3) and colony stimulating factor 2 (CSF2/GM-CSF). IL5, together with those for interleukin 4 (IL4), interleukin 13 (IL13), and CSF2, form a cytokine gene cluster on chromosome 5. IL5, IL4, and IL13 are found to be regulated coordinately by long-range regulatory elements spread over 120 kilobases on chromosome 5q31.

Betaine-Homocysteine Methyltransferase 2 (BHMT2) is involved in the regulation of homocysteine metabolism. Homocysteine is a sulfur-containing amino acid which has a key role in methylation reactions. Transfer of the methyl group from betaine to homocysteine generates methionine, which donates the methyl group to methylate DNA, proteins, lipids, and other intracellular metabolites. BHMT2 is one of two methyl transferases which can catalyze the transfer of the methyl group from betaine to homocysteine. BHMT2 converts homocysteine to methionine using S-methylmethionine (SMM) as a methyl donor. Homocysteine metabolism anomalies are implicated in disorders varying from vascular disease to neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida.

HMGB1 is an abundant chromatin-binding protein found in eukaryotic cell nucleus and acts in the assembly of nucleoprotein complexes. Inside the cell, HMGB1 binds to DNA and is involved in transcriptional regulation. Outside the cell, HMGB1 acts as a cytokine with activities that resemble those of tumor necrosis factor (TNF). HMGB1 is elevated significantly in chronic kidney disease patients and correlates with glomerular filtration rate as well as with markers of inflammation and malnutrition. HMGB1 is involved in Gram-negative sepsis by catalyzing movement of LPS monomers from LPS aggregates to CD14 to initiate a TLR4-mediated proinflammatory response. HMGB1 plays an important role in the relationship between necrosis and malignancy in glioma tumours. HMG1 protein is induced by Mycobacterium bovis BCG. Overexpression of HMGB1 is common in gastrointestinal stromal tumors and is related to the KIT mutation. HMG1 induces growth inhibition and apoptosis in macrophages through RAGE intracellular signaling pathway. The increase of extracellular HMGB1 observed in salivary glands of Sjogren's syndrome patients indicates that HMGB-1 is involved in the inflammatory process of the disease. HMGB-1 together with estrogen increase cell cycle progression in tumor cell lines.

Stem cell factor / KIT ligand (SCF) is a cytokine which binds CD117(c-Kit). SCF is also known as "steel factor" or "c-kit ligand". SCF exists in two forms, cell surface bound SCF and soluble (or free) SCF. Soluble SCF is produced by the cleavage of surface bound SCF by metalloproteases. SCF is a growth factor important for the survival, proliferation, and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells and other hematopoietic progenitor cells. One of its roles is to change the BFU-E (burst-forming unit-erythroid) cells, which are the earliest erythrocyte precursors in the erythrocytic series, into the CFU-E (colony-forming unit-erythroid).

Energy Homeostasis Associated (ENHO) participates in glucose homeostasis maintenance and lipid metabolism. ENHO is expressed in the liver and the brain. The role of ENHO in obesity or diabetes is studied.

HAUS augmin-like complex subunit 1 (HAUS1) is 1 of 8 subunits of the 390kDa human augmin complex/ HAUS complex. The augmin complex is a microtubule-binding complex required in microtubule generation within the mitotic spindle and is imperative to mitotic spindle compilation. HAUS1 contributes to mitotic spindle assembly, maintenance of centrosome integrity and completion of cytokinesis as part of the HAUS augmin-like complex. HAUS1 is broadly expressed, especially in the pancreas, kidney, skeletal muscle, liver and heart. However it is weakly expressed in the lung, brain and placenta. HAUS1-depleted cells hold functional cell cycle checkpoints, but the depletion reduces the G2/M cell cycle compartment and stimulates apoptosis. The HAUS1 protein level remains constant through the cell cycle.

GDF-5 is a member of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) family and the TGF-beta superfamily. This group of proteins is characterized by a polybasic proteolytic processing site which is cleaved to produce a mature protein containing seven conserved cysteine residues. The members of this family are regulators of cell growth and differentiation in both embryonic and adult tissues. Mutations in this gene are associated with acromesomelic dysplasia, Hunter-Thompson type; brachydactyly, type C; and chondrodysplasia, Grebe type. These associations confirm that the gene product plays a role in skeletal development.

C11ORF31 (Chromosome 11 Open Reading Frame 31) is a selenoprotein, which contains a selenocysteine (Sec) residue at its active site. The selenocysteine is encoded by the UGA codon which ordinarily signals translation termination. The 3' UTR of selenoprotein genes have a mutual stem-loop structure, the sec insertion sequence (SECIS), which is essential for the recognition of UGA as a Sec codon rather than as a stop signal. The exact function of the C11ORF31 gene is not known, however, selenoproteins are assumed to be responsible for most biomedical effects of dietary selenium. C11ORF31 is involved in a redox-related process.

RAC1 is a GTPase which belongs to the RAS superfamily of small GTP-binding proteins. Members of this superfamily appear to regulate a diverse array of cellular events, including the control of cell growth, cytoskeletal reorganization, and the activation of protein kinases. RAC-1 regulates the actin cytoskeleton but also other cellular processes. RAC1 have been shown to be involved in the regulation of cell-cell adhesion.

Hydroxyacid Oxidase 1 (HAO1) is a part of the superfamily of the alpha hydroxy acid oxidases (HAO) enzymes. HAO1 catalyses the FMN mediated oxidation of glycolate to glyoxylate and glyoxylate to oxalate by reducing oxygen to hydrogen peroxide. HAO1 is expressed mainly in the liver and pancreas and is most active on twocarbon substrates such as glycolate. HAO1 isthe main cause of hyperoxaluria, a disorder in which large deposits of calcium oxalate form kidney stones.

Shiga-like toxin (verotoxin) is a toxin produced by some strains of Escherichia coli. Shiga-like toxin is named for its similarity to the AB5-type Shiga toxin produced by the bacteria Shigella dysenteriae. There are two known types-SLT1 and SLT2. The Shiga-like toxin is linked with hemolytic-uremic syndrome. Shiga-like toxin requires highly specific receptors on the cells'' surface in order to attach and enter the cell. Species such as cattle, swine, and deer which do not carry these receptors may harbor toxigenic bacteria without any ill effect, dropping them in their feces, from where they may be distributed to humans. Shiga Like Toxin-1 Subunit B has nontoxic action, it is the functional region which binds to the receptor. The Shiga Like Toxin-1 Subunit B can be useful in vaccine study, antibody test and other functional research.

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.

Hemopexin (or haemopexin) is a plasma protein that binds heme with the highest affinity of any known protein. Hemopexin is generally expressed in liver, and belongs to acute phase reactants, the synthesis of which is induced after inflammation. Heme is potentially very toxic because of its ability to intercalate into lipid membrane and to generate hydroxyl radicals. Hemopexin’s function of scavenging the heme released or lost by the turnover of heme proteins such as hemoglobin defends the body from the oxidative damage that free heme can cause. Additionally, hemopexin discharges its bound ligand for internalisation upon interacting with a specific receptor located on the surface of liver cells. This hemopexin function is in order to preserve the body's iron. Hemopexin’s levels in the serum are an indication of how much heme is present in the blood. Low Hemopexin levels show that there is a lot of it in the serum. For that reason, low hemopexin levels indicate that there has been consid

Sulfite oxidase, also known as SUOX is a homodimeric protein localized to the intermembrane space of mitochondria. Each subunit includes a heme domain as well as a molybdopterin-binding domain. The SUOX enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of sulfite to sulfate, the last reaction in the oxidative degradation of the sulfur amino acids cysteine and methionine. In addition, the deficiency of SUOX results in neurological abnormalities which are often fatal at an early age.

HPCAL1, participates in neuron-specific calcium-binding proteins family found in the retina and brain. HPCAL1 is extremely comparable to human hippocalcin protein and almost equal to the rat and mouse hippocalcin like-1 proteins. HPCAL1 takes part in the calcium-dependent regulation of rhodopsin phosphorylation and can have importance in neuronal signalling in the central nervous system.

Periostin is a disulfide linked 90 kDa, 811 amino acid protein originally isolated as a osteoblast-specific factor that functions as a cell adhesion molecule for preosteoblasts and is thought to be involved in osteoblast recruitment, attachment and spreading. Additionally, periostin expression has previously been shown to be significantly increased by both transforming growth factor beta-1(TGFbeta1) and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-2). OSF-2 has a typical signal sequence, followed by a cysteine-rich domain, a fourfold repeated domain and a C-terminal domain. The fourfold repeated domain of OSF-2 shows homology with the insect protein fasciclin
Periostin mRNA is expressed in the developing mouse embryonic and fetal heart, and that it is localized to the endocardial cushions that ultimately divide the primitive heart tube into a four-chambered heart.

GHBP is a transmembrane receptor for growth hormone. Binding of growth hormone to the receptor leads to receptor dimerization and the activation of an intra- and intercellular signal transduction pathway leading to growth. A common alternate allele of this gene, called GHRd3, lacks exon three and has been well-characterized. Mutations in this gene have been associated with Laron syndrome, also known as the growth hormone insensitivity syndrome (GHIS), a disorder characterized by short stature. Other splice variants, including one encoding a soluble form of the protein (GHRtr), have been observed but have not been thoroughly characterized.

RHOQ (rho-related GTP-binding protein RhoQ) is a small signaling G protein which cycles between an active GTP-bound and an inactive GDP-bound state. In the active state it binds to a diversity of effector proteins to regulate cellular responses. Ras-like protein belongs to the Rac subfamily of the Rho family of GTPases. RHOQ is involved in epithelial cell polarization processes. In addition, RHOQ plays a role in CFTR trafficking to the plasma membrane. RHOQ causes the formation of thin, actin-rich surface projections called filopodia.

GDF-11 belongs to the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) family and the TGF-beta superfamily. GDF-11 is a central developmental factor which controls muscular and neural development. In adults, GDF-11 encourages cardiac hypertrophy reverse by the revival of cardiomyocytes.