Structure prediction of neuroendocrine convertase -2: a potential target in various cancers.

Prohormone or proprotein convertases (PC2) are members of the subtilisin family of serine proteases. They are involved in the activation of precursor molecules by endoproteolytic cleavage at basic amino acid residues within the general motif (K/R)-(X)n- (K/R)2, where n is 0, 2, 4 or 6 and X is usually not Cys. Among the members of this prohormone convertase family, Neuroendocrine Convertase-2 (NEC-2) is regarded as one of the important proteins involved in the maturation of many precursor proteins.

Developmental changes in the neuronal protein composition: a study by high resolution 2D-gel electrophoresis.

Cerebellar granular neurons were grown in culture up to 21 days and the protein compositions of undifferentiated (day 1), partially differentiated (day 7) and fully differentiated (day 21) neurons were analyzed by high-resolution 2D-gel electrophoresis. During neuronal differentiation there were not only increase in the amount of several known proteins, viz. actin, tubulin (both alpha and beta subunits), myosin (heavy and light chains), but very interesting changes were also observed in the expressions of different subunits and isoforms of those proteins.