Search results

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.

Osteocrin is a recently identified secreted protein expression of which was only detected in bone, peaking just after birth and decreasing markedly with age. A 1280-bp mRNA encodes osteocrin producing a mature protein of 103 amino acids with a molecular mass of 11.4 kDa. In primary osteoblastic cell cultures osteocrin expression coincided with matrix formation then decreased in very mature cultures. Treatment of cultures with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 resulted in a rapid dose- dependent down-regulation of osteocrin expression, suggesting direct regulation. Chronic treatment of primary cultures with osteocrin-conditioned media inhibited mineralization and reduced osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase expression. These results suggest that osteocrin represents a novel, unique vitamin D-regulated bone-specific protein that appears to act as a soluble osteoblast regulator.

Phl p 7.0101 is a secondary allergen of timothy grass pollen, which is non-glycosylated protein. Grass pollen-sensitized individuals show IgE antibodies in their blood system. Phl p 7.0101 is a calcium binding protein with similar sequence to pollen antigens that exist in different plants, hence, cross-reactions are possible.

Gliadin is a common substrate of transglutaminase, which generates neo-epitopes by deamidation of glutamine side chains. 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.

Peptidoglycan Recognition Protein 1 (PGLYRP1) is a member of the N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidase 2 family. PGLYRP1 binds to peptidoglycan of bacteria and affects the peptidoglycan biosynthesis. PGLYRP1 displays bactericidal activity towards Gram-positive bacteria and is bacteriostatic towards Gram-negative bacteria. PGLYRP1 has a role in innate immunity. PGLYRP1 is highly expressed in the bone marrow, and weakly expressed in the kidney, liver, small intestine, spleen, thymus, peripheral leukocyte, lung, fetal spleen and neutrophils.

GDNF Family Receptor Alpha 3 (GFRA3) belongs to the GDNF receptor family. GFRA3 creates a signaling receptor complex with RET tyrosine kinase receptor and binds the ligand, artemin (ARTN).

Decorin (DCN) is a small cellular or pericellular matrix proteoglycan which is closely related in structure to biglycan protein. Decorin is a secreted protein which binds to collagen and fibronectin in extracellular matrix. Decorin appears in different glycoforms, substituted with chondroitin sulfate or dermatan sulfate consistent with the original tissue. DCN contains one attached glycosaminoglycan chain. Decorin influences the rate of fibril formation. Decorin is capable of suppressing the growth of various tumor cell lines. DCN gene defects cause corneal dystrophy. The DCN gene is a candidate gene for Marfan syndrome.

Growth Hormone Binding Protein or GHR, is a protein, part of the cytokine receptor superfamily. GHR binds to 2 receptors, therefore it enhances signal transduction via dimerization of receptors. In elevated levels, growth hormone operates as an antagonist due to high variance in the binding sites affinities. The antagonist operation can be embellished even more when the binding site is reduced its affinity.

GCSF is a cytokine that controls the production, differentiation, and function of granulocytes. The active protein is found extracellularly. Three transcript variants encoding three different isoforms have been found for the GCSF gene. 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. This csf induces granulocytes.

GAPDH is a catalytic enzyme normally known to play a role in glycolysis. GAPDH exists as a tetramer composed of 36-kDa subunits and has a range of intracellular functions. GAPDH catalyzes the reversible reduction of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphophate in the presence of NADPH. Besides functioning as a glycolytic enzyme in cytoplasm, GAPDH has function in intracellular processes such as membrane fusion, microtubule bundling, phosphotransferase activity, nuclear RNA export, DNA replication and DNA repair. GAPDH catalyzes a vital energy-yielding step in carbohydrate metabolism, the reversible oxidative phosphorylation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate in the presence of inorganic phosphate and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). The enzyme exists as a tetramer of identical chains.

GDNF Family Receptor Alpha 3 (GFRA3) belongs to the GDNF receptor family. GFRA3 creates a signaling receptor complex with RET tyrosine kinase receptor and binds the ligand, artemin (ARTN).

Alpha 1 ACT is an early-stage acute-phase plasma protein and a serpin that preferentially inactivates chymotrypsin, cathepsin G, and chymase. Alpha-1-ACT, a serine protease inhibitor, is tightly associated with amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in normal aged human and monkey brain.
Regulation of the serine proteases and serine protease inhibitors plays an important role in neuromuscular differentiation. Prostate specific antigen (PSA), a chymotrypsin-like serine protease, is predominantly complexed to Alpha-1-ACT.

NT3 a member of the neurotrophin family, that controls survival and differentiation of mammalian neurons. This protein is closely related to both nerve growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. It may be involved in the maintenance of the adult nervous system, and may affect development of neurons in the embryo when it is expressed in human placenta. NTF3-deficient mice generated by gene targeting display severe movement defects of the limbs. The mature peptide of this protein is identical in all mammals examined including human, pig, rat and mouse.

Borrelia belongs to a genus of bacteria of the spirochete phylum. Borrelia causes borreliosis, which is a zoonotic, vector-borne disease transmitted mainly by ticks and some by lice, depending on the species. Of the 36 known species of Borrelia, 12 are distinguished to cause Lyme disease or borreliosis and are transmitted by ticks. The main Borrelia species causing Lyme disease are Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia afzelii, and Borrelia garinii. The Borrelia genus members have a linear chromosome which is about 900 kbp in length as well as an excess of both linear and circular plasmids in the 5-220 kbp size range. The plasmids are atypical, as compared to most bacterial plasmids, since they contain many paralogous sequences, a large number of pseudogenes and, in some cases, essential genes. Moreover, a number of the plasmids have features suggesting that they are prophages.

Fractalkine soluble form is chemotactic for t-cells and monocytes, but not for neutrophils. Fractalkine membrane-bound form promotes adhesion of those leukocytes to endothelial cells. Fractalkine regulates leukocyte adhesion and migration processes at the endothelium and binds to CX3CR1. Fractalkine gene is located on human chromosome 16 along with some CC chemokines known as CCL17 and CCL22.

GDNF promotes the survival and differentiation of neurons in culture, and is able to prevent apoptosis of motor neurons induced by axotomy. The encoded protein is processed to a mature secreted form that exists as a homodimer. The mature form of the protein is a ligand for the product of the RET (rearranged during transfection) protooncogene. In addition to the transcript encoding GDNF, two additional alternative transcripts encoding distinct proteins, referred to as astrocyte-derived trophic factors, have also been described. Mutations in this gene may be associated with Hirschsprung disease.
GDNF enhances survival and morphological differentiation of neurons and increases their high-affinity uptake.

Ebolavirus (EVD) belongs to the Filoviridae family of proteins which is comprised of a single-strand, non-infectious RNA genome. EVD genome is about 19,000 base pairs long and covers 7 genes in the order 3'-UTR-NP-VP35-VP40-GP-VP30-VP24-L-5'-UTR. There are 4 different ebolaviruses such as: Zaire (EBO-Z), Sudan (EBO-S), Cote d’Ivoire (EBO-CI) and Reston (EBO-R) that differ in amino acid sequence and location of where the gene overlaps. The EBOV glycoprotein is the only virally expressed protein above the virion surface. The EBOV glycoprotein is essential for virus attachment to host cell and fusion with target cell. Mucin like domain within Ebola virus glycoprotein contains multiple glycosylated amino acids. It has been shown that antibodies frequently develop against its mucin like domain. Recombinant mucin like domain is a suitable antigen to test specific antibodies from Ebola virus infected patients.

CAMP belongs to the antimicrobial peptide family, contains highly conserved N-terminal signal peptide, a cathelin domain and a structurally variable cationic antimicrobial peptide that produced by extracellular proteolysis from the C-terminus. CAMP has numerous functions besides the antimicrobial activity such as: cell chemotaxis, immune mediator induction and inflammatory response regulation.

GDF8 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. This gene is thought to encode a secreted protein which negatively regulates skeletal muscle growth.

BIRC7 is a part of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family and contains a single copy of a baculovirus IAP repeat (BIR) as well as a RING-type zinc finger domain. The BIR domain is necessary for inhibitory activity & cooperates with caspases, while the RING finger domain sometimes increases anti-apoptotic activity but doesn’t inhibit apoptosis by itself. 2 transcript variants encoding diverse isoforms have been found for this gene. The 2 isoforms have dissimilar antiapoptotic characteristics, with isoform a protecting cells from apoptosis induced by staurosporine and isoform b defending cells from apoptosis induced by etoposide.
BIRC7 has direct contact with several caspases together with caspase-3, caspase-7, & caspase –9. BIRC7 inhibits the activation of caspase-9 induced by Apaf-1, cytochrome c, and dATP.

OTOR proteins is also known as fibrocyte-derived protein (Fdp) and Melanoma inhibitory activity-like (MIAL). Otoraplin is a member of the melanoma-inhibiting activity gene family. Otoraplin is a secreted 16 kDa globular protein that is expressed in the inner ear by periotic mesenchyme and developing and mature fibrocytes. OTOR is highly homologous to MIA/cartilage-derived retinoic acid-sensitive protein (CD-RAP), which is a cartilage-specific protein that is also expressed in malignant melanoma cells. The 111 amino acid mature human otoraplin contains 1 SH3 domain (46 – 107 amino acids) and a Tyr at position 50 that is reportedly sulfated. Otoraplin takes pasrt in the initiation of periotic mesenchyme chondrogenesis.
Otoraplin is secreted through the Golgi apparatus and plays a role in cartilage development and maintenance. A frequent polymorphism in the translation start codon of OTOR can abolish translation and may be associated with forms of deafness.

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.

Glycine amidinotransferase mitochondrial (GATM) is a mitochondrial enzyme which is a member of the amidinotransferase family. The GATM enzyme is involved in creatine biosynthesis, where it catalyzes the transfer of a guanido group from L-arginine to glycine, resulting in guanidinoacetic acid, the immediate precursor of creatine, which has an imperative role in energy metabolism in muscle tissues. GATM is significant in embryonic and central nervous system development. GATM gene mutations cause arginine:glycine amidinotransferase deficiency, an inborn error of creatine synthesis characterized by mental retardation, language impairment, and behavioral disorders.