Description
NTPDase 2, also known as ENTPD2, belongs to the ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase family (E-NTPDase). Members of E-NTPDase family are nucleotidases able to hydrolyze 5′-nucleoside tri- and/or diphosphates; the main role of these enzymes is the termination of purinergic signaling. NTPDases are ubiquitous and were previously shown in other parasites including the trypanosomatides of genus Leishmania and in T. brucei. NTPase activity would act as a timer and is crucial to T. gondii infection. In L. pneumophila it was demonstrated that an E-NTPDase, similar to CD39, is essential for intracellular bacterial multiplication. NTPDase 2 is an integral membrane protein. In the nervous system, it could hydrolyze ATP and other nucleotides to regulate purinergic neurotransmission. Alternative splicing of NTPDase 2 gene results in multiple transcript variants