Description
Product Characteristics: Glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII), also known as N-acetyl-alpha-linked acidic dipeptidase I (NAALADase I), folate hydrolase (FOLH1), and prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), is an approximately 95-110 kDa type II transmembrane glycoprotein expressed in various tissues. In nervous system GCPII cleaves abundant N-acetylaspartylglutamate, which is released from neurons in a calcium-dependent manner, to N-acetylaspartate and glutamate. As immoderate glutamate concentration is neurotoxic, GCPII contributes to pathological conditions regarding e.g. Alzheimer´s disease, Huntington´s disease, epilepsy, schizophrenia, stroke or neuropathic pain and appears to be an interesting therapeutic target. In jejunum GCPII hydrolyzes pteroylpoly-gamma-glutamate to folate and glutamate, enabling folate to be absorbed by gastrointestinal tract. GCPII, which is present in a number of tissues at low levels, is overexpressed in neovasculature of most solid tumours and is a target enzyme for diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. Normal human prostate express more mRNA coding for a cytosolic GCPII form truncated at the N-terminus (PSM´) than mRNA for membrane-bound GCPII, and this ratio is reversed upon malignant transformation.
Target Information: This gene encodes a type II transmembrane glycoprotein belonging to the M28 peptidase family. The protein acts as a glutamate carboxypeptidase on different alternative substrates, including the nutrient folate and the neuropeptide N-acetyl-l-aspartyl-l-glutamate and is expressed in a number of tissues such as prostate, central and peripheral nervous system and kidney. A mutation in this gene may be associated with impaired intestinal absorption of dietary folates, resulting in low blood folate levels and consequent hyperhomocysteinemia. Expression of this protein in the brain may be involved in a number of pathological conditions associated with glutamate excitotoxicity. In the prostate the protein is up-regulated in cancerous cells and is used as an effective diagnostic and prognostic indicator of prostate cancer. This gene likely arose from a duplication event of a nearby chromosomal region. Alternative splicing gives rise to multiple transcript variants encoding several different isoforms. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2010]