Description
Kell, also known as Kell blood group glycoprotein homolog, is a member of the zinc endopeptidase of the neprilysin (NEP) family. It is an enzyme whose principal known function is the production of a potent bioactive peptide, ET-3. It also includes endothelin converting enzymes (ECE-1 and ECE-2), PEX, XCE, DINE and several NEP-like proteins. It is linked through a single disulfide bond to XK, a putative membrane transporter. The two proteins constitute the Kell blood group antigens. The Kell antigen system (also known as Kell-Cellano system) is one of the most clinically important blood group systems. Recombinant mouse Kell, fused to His-tag at C-terminus, was expressed in insect cell and purified by using conventional chromatography techniques