Embracing the complexity of matricellular proteins: the functional and clinical significance of splice variation.
Biomol Concepts
; 7(2): 117-32, 2016 May 01.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27135623
ABSTRACT
Matricellular proteins influence wide-ranging fundamental cellular processes including cell adhesion, migration, growth and differentiation. They achieve this both through interactions with cell surface receptors and regulation of the matrix environment. Many matricellular proteins are also associated with diverse clinical disorders including cancer and diabetes. Alternative splicing is a precisely regulated process that can produce multiple isoforms with variable functions from a single gene. To date, the expression of alternate transcripts for the matricellular family has been reported for only a handful of genes. Here we analyse the evidence for alternative splicing across the matricellular family including the secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), thrombospondin, tenascin and CCN families. We find that matricellular proteins have double the average number of splice variants per gene, and discuss the types of domain affected by splicing in matricellular proteins. We also review the clinical significance of alternative splicing for three specific matricellular proteins that have been relatively well characterised osteopontin (OPN), tenascin-C (TNC) and periostin. Embracing the complexity of matricellular splice variants will be important for understanding the sometimes contradictory function of these powerful regulatory proteins, and for their effective clinical application as biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Proteínas de la Matriz Extracelular
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Animals
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Biomol Concepts
Año:
2016
Tipo del documento:
Article