Pancreatic Stone Protein (PSP), also known as Lithostathine-1-alpha islet cells regeneration factor (ICRF) or islet of Langerhans regenerating protein (REG) is a
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''REG1A''
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
as a single polypeptide of 144 amino acids further cleaved by trypsin to produced a 133 amino acid protein that is O-linked glycosylated on threonine 27. This protein is a type I subclass member of the
Regenerating protein family. The Reg protein family is a multi protein family grouped into four subclasses, types I, II, III and IV based on the primary structures of the proteins.
Reg family members
REG1B,
REGL,
PAP and this gene are tandemly clustered on chromosome 2p12 and may have arisen from the same ancestral gene by gene duplication.
The PSP is mostly produced in Human by the acinar cells of the
pancreas
The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an end ...
and is secreted in the duodenum by the same pathway that pancreatic exocrine enzymes. It has C-terminal
C-type lectin domain whose binding partner is currently unknown.
Function
Pancreas development and regeneration
The PSP has been shown to be associated with
islet cell
The pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine (hormone-producing) cells, discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans. The pancreatic islets constitute 1–2% of ...
regeneration
Regeneration may refer to:
Science and technology
* Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs
* Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis
...
and
diabetogenesis and may be involved in pancreatic
lithogenesis.
Sepsis
The blood PSP concentration has been shown to increase substantially in response to a
sepsis
Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...
event. Consequently, the use of the PSP as a biomarker of sepsis has been investigated thoroughly and the result of these researches confirmed the high diagnostic accuracy of the PSP for sepsis.
Of particular interest, PSP concentration has been shown to increase early in the development of a septic event, as illustrated in a cohort of severely burnt patients
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{gene-2-stub