Nitric oxide synthase NOS oxidizes a guanidine nitrogen of arginine releasing nitric oxide in the form of a free radical and citrulline. Nitric oxide thus generated acts as a messenger in diverse functions including vasodilation neurotransmission, anti tumor and anti pathogenic activities. NOS is classified under three types: neuronal NOS (nNOS) or brain NOS (bNOS); inducible NOS (iNOS) or macrophage NOS (mNOS); and endothelial NOS (eNOS). $n eNOS is a calcium/calmodulin dependent enzyme whi

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is a heme protein synthesized during myeloid differentiation that constitutes the major component of neutrophil azurophilic granules. Produced as a single chain precursor, myeloperoxidase is subsequently cleaved into a light and heavy chain. The mature myeloperoxidase is a tetramer composed of 2 light chains and 2 heavy chains. This enzyme produces hypohalous acids central to the microbicidal activity of netrophils. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].

This gene belongs to the TIMP gene family. The proteins encoded by this gene family are natural inhibitors of the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a group of peptidases involved in degradation of the extracellular matrix. In addition to its inhibitory role against most of the known MMPs, the encoded protein is able to promote cell proliferation in a wide range of cell types, and may also have an anti-apoptotic function. Transcription of this gene is highly inducible in response to many cytoki

Human IgA (immunoglobulin A) is a glycosylated protein of 160 kDa and is produced as a monomer or as a J chain linked dimer. Monomeric IgA constitutes 5-15 % of the serum immunoglobulins whereas dimeric IgA is localized to mucosa surfaces such as saliva, gastrointestinal secretion, bronchial fluids and milk. Mucosal IgA plays a major role in host defence by neutralising infectious agents at mucosal surfaces. The production is usually local and antigen specific IgA producing B cells can be fo

The placental-derived growth factor (PIGF) is a dimeric glycoprotein showing a high degree of sequence similarity to the vascular endothelial growth factor. Alternative splicing of the PIGF primary transcript gives rise to two forms, named PIGF-1 and PIGF-2, which differ only in the insertion of a highly basic 21-amino acid stretch at the carboxyl end. The presence of the PIGF mRNA in thyroid, placenta, lung, and goiter has indicated the tissues where this factor functions. However, the role

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(TGF beta 1) and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP2). Periostin has a typical signal sequence, followed by