Description
Product Characteristics: Versican (chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 2) is a large extracellular matrix proteoglycan involved in cell growth and differentiation. Important as a structural molecule, versican creates loose and hydrated matrices during key events in development and disease. The protein contains hyaluronic acid and glycosminoglycan-binding domains, epidermal growth factor-like repeats, a Lectinlike sequence and a complement regulatory protein-like domain. Splice variants differ greatly in length anddegree of modification by glycoaminoglycan chains. Accumulation around smooth muscle cells in lesions of athero-sclerosis suggests a role for versican in atherogenesis. Versican, differentially expressed in human melanoma, plays a role in tumor development and may be a reliable marker for clinical diagnosis. The organization of HA- and versican-rich pericellular matrices may faciliatate migration and mitosis by diminishing cell surface adhesivity and affecting cell shape through steric exclusion and the viscous properties of HA proteoglycan gels.
Target Information: This gene is a member of the aggrecan/versican proteoglycan family. The protein encoded is a large chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan and is a major component of the extracellular matrix. This protein is involved in cell adhesion, proliferation, proliferation, migration and angiogenesis and plays a central role in tissue morphogenesis and maintenance. Mutations in this gene are the cause of Wagner syndrome type 1. Multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2009]