Intracellular and extracellular roles of S100 proteins

S100, a multigenic family of non-ubiquitous Ca(2+)-modulated proteins of the EF-hand type expressed in vertebrates exclusively, has been implicated in intracellular and extracellular regulatory activities. Members of this protein family have been shown to interact with several effector proteins within cells thereby regulating enzyme activities, the dynamics of cytoskeleton constituents, cell growth and differentiation, and Ca(2+) homeostasis. Structural information indicates that most of S100 proteins exist in the form of antiparallelly packed homodimers (in some cases heterodimers), capable of functionally crossbridging two homologous or heterologous target proteins in a Ca(2+)-dependent (and, in some…

• UD
  Università degli Studi di Perugia