Description
Product Characteristics: Cyclins are a family of proteins that control how cells proceed through the multi-step cycle of cell division. Cyclin D2 helps to regulate a step in the cycle called the G1-S transition, in which the cell moves from the G1 phase, when cell growth occurs, to the S phase, when the cell's DNA is copied (replicated) in preparation for cell division. Cyclin D2's role in the cell division cycle makes it a key controller of the rate of cell growth and division (proliferation) in the body.
Target Information: The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the highly conserved cyclin family, whose members are characterized by a dramatic periodicity in protein abundance through the cell cycle. Cyclins function as regulators of CDK kinases. Different cyclins exhibit distinct expression and degradation patterns which contribute to the temporal coordination of each mitotic event. This cyclin forms a complex with and functions as a regulatory subunit of CDK4 or CDK6, whose activity is required for cell cycle G1/S transition. This protein has been shown to interact with and be involved in the phosphorylation of tumor suppressor protein Rb. Knockout studies of the homologous gene in mouse suggest the essential roles of this gene in ovarian granulosa and germ cell proliferation. High level expression of this gene was observed in ovarian and testicular tumors. [provided by RefSeq, Oct 2008]