Description
Furin is a member of the proprotein convertase (PC) family, which belongs to the subtilisin superfamily of serine proteases. As a cellular protease, Furin processes a variety of proproteins in secretory pathway compartments by cleaving after ArgXaaLys/ArgArglike motifs, which usually reside at the end of the pro regions of these proproteins. Examples of the proprotein substrates are growth factors and receptors, extracellular matrix proteins, and other proteases. Furin has an essential role in embryogenesis and homeostasis and is implicated in various pathologies such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and anthrax (1, 2). Mouse Furin is a 793 amino acid type I transmembrane protein precursor with a signal peptide (residues 1 24), a pro region