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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.

Type 1 cystatins are also called stefins which function as intracellular thiol protease inhibitors. Cystatin-B protein is able to form a dimer stabilized by noncovalent forces, inhibiting papain and cathepsins l, h and b. CSTB protein protects proteases leakage from lysosomes. Mutations in Stefin-B gene cause primary defects in patients with progressive myoclonic epilepsy (EPM1), a degenerative disease of the central nervous system. CSTB is overexpressed & elevated in the serum of HCC patients. Cystatin-B in vivo has a polymeric structure which is sensitive to the redox environment. Cystatin-B inhibits bone resorption by down-regulating intracellular cathepsin K activity despite increased osteoclast survival. Protein and mRNA levels of stefin B are significantly lower in atypical benign meningiomas. Stefins-A & Stefin-B which belong to the type-1 Cystatins, are up-regulated in lung tumours and thus able to counteract harmful tumour-associated proteolytic activity. Human stefin-A & Stef

CMV is part of the Betaherpesvirinae subfamily of Herpesviridae; including herpes simplex virustypes 1 and 2, varicella-zoster virus, and Epstein-Barrvirus. The herpesviruses has the common ability to stay latentover long periods of time. CMV has the largest genome of the herpes viruses, ranging from 230-240 kilobase pairs. CMV is a double-stranded linear DNA virus with 162 hexagonal protein capsomeres surrounded by a lipid membrane. Human CMV is composed of unique and inverted repeats that include the existence of 4 genome isomers caused by inversion of L-S genome components (class E). Replication may be divided into immediate early, delayed early, and late gene expression based on time of synthesis after infection. The DNA is replicated by rolling circles. In vitro, CMV replicates in human fibroblasts.

Clusterin also named Apolipoprotein J (APO-J) is a 75-80 kD disulfide-linked heterodimeric protein containing about 30% of N-linked carbohydrate rich in sialic acid but truncated forms targeted to the nucleus have also been identified.
The precursor polypeptide chain is cleaved proteolytically to remove the 22-mer secretory signal peptide and subsequently between residues 227/228 to generate the a and b chains. These are assembled in anti-parallel to give a heterodimeric molecule in which the cysteine-rich centers are linked by five disulfide bridges and are flanked by two predicted coiled-coil a-helices and three predicted amphipathic a-helices.
Across a broad range of species clusterin shows a high degree of sequence homology ranging from 70% to 80%. It is nearly ubiquitously expressed in most mammalian tissues and can be found in plasma, milk, urine, cerebrospinal fluid and semen.
It is able to bind and form complexes with numerous partners such as immunoglobulins, lipids, heparin, bacteria, complement components, paraoxonase, beta amyloid, leptin and others. Clusterin has been ascribed a plethora of functions such as phagocyte recruitment, aggregation induction, complement attack prevention, apoptosis inhibition, membrane remodeling, lipid transport, hormone transport and/or scavenging, matrix metalloproteinase inhibition.
A genuine function of clusterin has not been defined. One tempting hypothesis says that clusterin is an extracellular chaperone protecting cells from stress induced insults caused by degraded and misfolded protein precipitates.
Clusterin is up- or down regulated on the mRNA or protein level in many pathological and clinically relevant situations including cancer, organ regeneration, infection, Alzheimer disease, retinitis pigmentosa, myocardial infarction, renal tubular damage, autoimmunity and others.

The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the bone morphogenetic protein family which is part of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily. The superfamily includes large families of growth and differentiation factors. Bone morphogenetic proteins were originally identified by an ability of demineralized bone extract to induce endochondral osteogenesis in vivo in an extraskeletal site. This particular family member plays an important role in the onset of endochondral bone formation in humans, and a reduction in expression has been associated with a variety of bone diseases, including the heritable disorder Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva. Alternative splicing in the 5' untranslated region of this gene has been described and three variants are described, all encoding an identical protein.

CTSW protein belongs to the peptidase C1 family. CTSW is a cysteine proteinase with a detailed role in the regulation and mechanism of T-cell cytolytic activity. The encoded CTSW is linked to the membrane inside the endoplasmic reticulum of natural killer and cytotoxic T-cells. CTSW expression is up-regulated by interleukin-2.

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. Natural Human Fractalkine is produced as a long protein (373-amino acid) with an extended mucin-like stalk and a chemokine domain on top. The mucin-like stalk permits it to bind to the cell surface. Fractalkine gene is located on human chromosome 16 along with some CC chemokines known as CCL17 and CCL22.

PPIH is a part of the peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) family. PPIases catalyze the cis-trans isomerization of proline imidic peptide bonds in oligopeptides and increase protein folding. PPIH enzyme is a precise factor of the complex that comprises pre-mRNA processing factors PRPF3, PRPF4, and PRPF18, as well as U4/U5/U6 tri-snRNP. PPIH possess PPIase activity and acts as a protein chaperone that mediates the interactions between different proteins inside the spliceosome.

Collagen triple helix repeat-containing protein 1 (CTHRC1) functions as a negative regulator of collagen matrix deposition. CTHRC1 is a secreted 28kDa protein which is glycosylated and highly conserved from lower chordates to mammals. CTHRC1 is highly connected with calcified tissues and cartilaginous matrix, but not with endothelial cells. CTHRC1 is detected qualitatively in plasma of healthy human subjects. CTHRC1 plasma levels are also significantly elevated during pregnancy, in diabetes, in inflammatory and infectious conditions, in subjects with acute myeloid leukemia but not in subjects with solid cancers. The hormonal functions of CTHRC1 include regulation of lipid storage and cellular glycogen levels with potentially far-reaching implications for cell metabolism and physiology. CTHRC1 gene deletion leads to fatty liver (steatosis) formation in mice while others exhibited inactivation of the CTHRC1 gene also results in low bone mass.

Suppressor of IKBKE 1 also known as SIKE1 belongs to the SIKE family. SIKE interacts with IKK-epsilon and TBK1 and function as a suppressor of TLR3. In addition, SIKE1 perform by disrupting the interactions of IKBKE or TBK1 with TICAM1/TRIF, IRF3 andDDX58/RIG-I. SIKE1 does not inhibit NF-kappa-B activation pathways.

Dendritic cell and monocyte chemokinelike protein (DMC/CXCL17/VEGF-correlated chemokine 1/VCC1), is a secreted molecule with a size and predicted 3-dimensional folding pattern similar to that of chemokines CXCL8/IL8 and CXCL14/BRAK. CXCL17 is constitutively generated by airway and intestinal epithelium. CXCL17 induces the chemotaxis of quiescent, but not LPS-activated peripheral blood monocytes and dendritic cells, and it also binds these cells specifically. The expression of CXCL17 is increased in endothelial cells when they are induced to form tubes in vitro. CXCL17, CXCL1/GRO and CXCL8/IL8 which have roles in angiogenesis, show significantly correlated expression with that of VEGF in primary lung, breast and esophageal tumors. Therefore, CXCL17 is suggested to have a role in tumor angiogenesis. The mature Rat CXCL17 shares 82%, 71% amino acid sequence identity with mouse, human CXCL17, respectively.

Caspase 3 Apoptosis-Related Cysteine Peptidase (CASP3) belongs to the cysteine-aspartic acid protease (caspase) family. Sequential activation of caspases plays a key role in the execution-phase of cell apoptosis. Caspases exist as inactive proenzymes which undergo proteolytic processing at conserved aspartic residues to generate 2 subunits, large and small, that dimerize to create the active enzyme. CASP3 protein cleaves and activates caspases 6, 7 and 9, and the protein itself is processed by caspases 8, 9 and 10. CASP3 is the leading caspase involved in the cleavage of amyloid-beta 4A precursor protein, which is linked with neuronal death in Alzheimer's disease. In addition, CASP3 is involved in the cleavage of huntingtin. CASP3 also cleaves and activates sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs) between the basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper domain and the membrane attachment domain. CASP3 initiates cell adhesion in sympathetic neurons through RET cleavage.

Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 (CXCL1) is a small cytokine belonging to the CXC chemokine family that was previously called GRO1 oncogene, Neutrophil-activating protein 3 (NAP-3) and melanoma growth stimulating activity, alpha (MSGA-?). It is secreted by human melanoma cells, has mitogenic properties and is implicated in melanoma pathogenesis. CXCL1 is expressed by macrophages, neutrophils and epithelial cells, and has neutrophil chemoattractant activity. CXCL1 plays a role in spinal cord development by inhibiting the migration of oligodendrocyte precursors and is involved in the processes of angiogenesis, inflammation, wound healing, and tumorigenesis. This chemokine elicits its effects by signaling through the chemokine receptor CXCR2. The gene for CXCL1 is located on human chromosome 4 amongst genes for other CXC chemokines.

Cathepsin-A (CTSA) is a protective protein which is crucial for both the activity of beta-galactosidase and neuraminidase, CTSA associates with these enzymes and exerts a protective function required for their stability and activity. The CTSA protein is also a carboxypeptidase and can deamidate tachykinins. CTSA is a component of the lysosomal multienzyme complex along with beta-galactosidase and sialidase Neu1. CTSA is a multicatalytic enzyme with deamidase and esterase in addition to carboxypeptidase activities.

The centromere is a specialized chromatin domain, present throughout the cell cycle, that acts as a platform on which the transient assembly of the kinetochore occurs during mitosis. All active centromeres are characterized by the presence of long arrays nucleosomes in which CENPA replaces histone H3. CENPM is an additional factor required for centromere assembly.

LYVE-1 has been identified as a major receptor for HA (extracellular matrix glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan) on the lymph vessel wall. The deduced amino acid sequence of LYVE-1 predicts a 322-residue type I integral membrane polypeptide 41% similar to the CD44 HA receptor with a 212-residue extracellular domain containing a single Link module the prototypic HA binding domain of the Link protein superfamily. Like CD44, the LYVE-1 molecule binds both soluble and immobilized HA. However, unlike CD44, the LYVE-1 molecule colocalizes with HA on the luminal face of the lymph vessel wall and is completely absent from blood vessels. Hence, LYVE-1 is the first lymph-specific HA receptor to be characterized and is a uniquely powerful marker for lymph vessels themselves.

BLOC1S2 is a member of the BLOC1S2 family. Biogenesis of lysosome-related organelles complex 1 or BLOC-1 is a universally expressed multisubunit protein complex which is essential for regular biogenesis of specialized organelles of the endosomal-lysosomal system, like melanosomes and platelet dense granules. BLOC1S2 takes part in cell proliferation.

CCL25 (Teck) is a novel CC chemokine, which is distantly related (about 20% amino acid sequence identity) to other CC chemokines. The mouse CCL25 cDNA has also been cloned and shown to encode a 144 a.a. protein, which exhibits 49% a.a. sequence identity to the human CCL25. Human and mouse CCL25 expression was shown to be greatly restricted to the thymus and small intestine. While dendritic cells are identified as the source of CCL25 production in the thymus, dendritic cells derived from bone marrow do not express CCL25. CCL25 signals through the CCR9 receptor. Teck is possibly involved in T-cell development.
Recombinant human and mouse Teck were shown to be chemotactic for activated macrophages, dendritic cells and thymocytes. The recombinant protein demonstrates chemotactic activity on thymocytes, macrophages, THP-1 cells, and dendritic cells but is inactive on peripheral blood lymphocytes and neutrophils.

CASQ2 belongs to the calsequestrin family and is localized to the sarcoplasmic reticulum in cardiac and slow skeletal muscle cells. CASQ2 is a calcium binding protein that stores calcium for muscle function. The discharge of calcium bound to CASQ2 through a calcium release channel activates muscle contraction. CASQ2 binds 40 to 50 moles of calcium. CASQ2 mutations result in stress-induced polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, also called catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia 2 which is known fir its bidirectional ventricular tachycardia that causes cardiac arrest.

Human Pin 1 is a peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase (PPIase) that interacts with NIMA and essential for cell cycle regulation Pin1 is nuclear PPIase containing a WW protein interaction domain, and is structurally and functionally related to Ess1/Ptf1, an essential protein in budding yeast. PPIase activity is necessary for Ess1/Pin1 function in yeast. Pin1 is thus an essential PPIase that regulates mitosis presumably by interacting with NIMA and attenuating its mitosis-promoting activity. Substrates of Pin1 include the mitotic regulators (Cdc25 phosphatase and NIMA, PLK I, Wee, and Myt1 kinases), several transcription factors like b-Catenin, c-Jun, and the tumor suppressor protein p53, and some specific proteins like the RNA Pol II, the cytoskeleton protein tau, and the G1/S protein Cyclin D1.

RAET1E is a member of the MHC class I family. MHC class I family contains main histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-related genes positioned in a cluster on chromosome 6q24.2-q25.3. RAET1E and RAET1G protein are different from other RAET1 proteins since they have type I membrane-spanning sequences at their C termini instead glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor sequences.RAET1E acts as a ligand for NKG2D receptor, expressed on the surface of numerous types of immune cells, involves in innate adaptive immune reactions.RAET1E delivers signals to NK cells and advances tumor immune surveillance by inducing the growth of anti-tumor cytotoxic lymphocyte.

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.