Description
Product Characteristics:
Lubricin, also designated proteoglycan-4 or megakaryocyte stimulating factor, is important for boundary lubrication within articulating joints. It is a disulfide-linked homodimer (between Cysteine 1146 and Cysteine 1403) that is essential for protein cleavage. Lubricin inhibits synovial cell adhesion to the cartilage surface, but also prevents the deposition of proteins from synovial fluid onto cartilage. Lubricin is highly expressed in cartilage, liver and synovial tissue. Defects in the gene encoding for lubricin can cause Jakobs syndrome, also designated camptodactyly-arthropathy-coxa vara-pericarditis syndrome (CACP). CACP is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by joint failure associated with noninflammatory synoviocyte hyperplasia and subinitimal fibrosis of the synovial capsule. Lubricin undergoes different levels of glycosylation and may be detected at varying molecular weights.
Subcellular location: Secreted
Synonyms: Superficial zone proteoglycan, articular superficial zone protein, bG174L6.2, CACP, camptodactyly arthropathy coxa vara pericarditis syndrome gene, FLJ32635, HAPO, Jacobs camptodactyly-arthropathy-pericarditis syndrome gene, JCAP, megakaryocyte stimulating factor, MSF, PRG 4, PRG4, proteoglycan 4, Proteoglycan4, Superficial zone proteoglycan, SZP.
Target Information: The protein encoded by this gene is a large proteoglycan specifically synthesized by chondrocytes located at the surface of articular cartilage, and also by some synovial lining cells. This protein contains both chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate glycosaminoglycans. It functions as a boundary lubricant at the cartilage surface and contributes to the elastic absorption and energy dissipation of synovial fluid. Mutations in this gene result in camptodactyly-arthropathy-coxa vara-pericarditis syndrome. Multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]