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Guardian of Life: Why is TCTP so ubiquitous and critical in cells?
In the cells of living organisms, there is a protein called translational control tumor protein (TCTP), which plays an important role in most cells. The behavior and function of this protein make it a popular subject in modern biomedical research. TCTP is encoded by the TPT1 gene, located on human chromosome 13, and is widely distributed in various tissues and cell types.
TCTP is a multifunctional and highly conserved protein that is widely present in different eukaryotes.
Historical background
The discovery of TCTP can be traced back to 1989, when researchers obtained the sequence of this protein from a human breast cancer cDNA library and believed that it was similar to a mouse tumor-related growth factor. With the deepening of research, people realized that TCTP is not a specific protein for tumors or specific tissues, but is commonly found in plants and mammals. Soon, other functions of TCTP were discovered, including its role in protozoa.
Characteristics and performance
TCTP has a molecular weight of approximately 20 to 25 kDa and is expressed in more than 500 different tissues and cell types. This makes TCTP one of the top ten most commonly expressed genes in humans. However, the amount of expression varies significantly depending on the tissue, with particularly lower expression in the kidney and renal cells. Such a phenomenon reflects the complexity of TCTP's transcriptional regulation and its association with tissue-specific factors.
Function of TCTP
The abundance and ubiquity of TCTP imply that it may have important basic functions within cells. Since the 1980s, scientists have discovered that TCTP has a variety of cellular and biochemical functions, which can be roughly divided into three categories:
Growth-related functions
TCTP is a microtubule-binding protein, and the process of binding to microtubules is affected by the cell cycle. By overexpressing TCTP in HeLa cells, the researchers found that the cells were resistant to apoptosis induced by etoposide. Similarly, in other human cell lines, overexpression of TCTP also showed a protective effect against cell death. In addition, the expression of TCTP is reduced during the tumor suppression process, which is related to the activation of the well-known tumor suppressor genes p53 and Siah-1.
Immune related functions
TCTP also plays an important role in immune responses. For example, it induces the release of histamine from certain human basophils, and this release is dependent on the presence of IgE. In addition, changes in intracellular calcium concentration also regulate the expression of TCTP. When the endoplasmic reticulum is deficient in calcium ions, the abundance of TCTP mRNA will increase.
Cancer related functions
TCTP plays an important role in tumor reversal and development. It is not only a regulator of cancer stem cell populations, but also affects tumor progression and the development of certain inflammatory diseases. The study also found that TCTP can act as a pro-survival protein and can antagonize the function of BAX, further confirming its importance in tumor biology.
Structure and interactions of TCTP
The sequence of TCTP was compared with the TCTP sequences of more than 30 species, showing that it is highly conserved during evolution. The solved structure of TCTP obtained by NMR spectroscopy from yeast revealed that the protein shares structural similarities with two small, nucleotide-free chaperones, Mss4 and Dss4. This allows TCTP to interact with a variety of proteins and play a role in various cellular and biological mechanisms.
TCTP has the ability to interact with a variety of other proteins, which is closely related to its various cellular and biological functions.
In conclusion, the presence of translationally controlled tumor proteins (TCTPs) in cells is inseparable from their diverse functions, especially in processes related to growth, immunity, and cancer. So, how will future research reveal the potential application of TCTP in disease treatment?
