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Roles and regulation of Thy‐1, a context‐dependent modulator of cell phenotype

2009; Wiley; Volume: 35; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/biof.41

1872-8081

John Bradley, Gustavo Ramírez, James S. Hagood,

Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research

Abstract Thy‐1 or CD90 is a glycophosphatidylinositol‐linked glycoprotein expressed on the surface of neurons, thymocytes, subsets of fibroblasts, endothelial cells, mesangial cells and some hematopoietic cells. Thy‐1 is evolutionarily conserved, developmentally regulated, and often has dramatic effects on cell phenotype; however, the effects vary between and in some cases within cell types and tissues, and between similar tissues in different species, indicating that the biological role of Thy‐1 is context‐dependent. Thy‐1 exists in soluble form in some body fluids; however, the mechanisms of its shedding are unknown. In addition, Thy‐1 expression can be regulated by epigenetic silencing. Because Thy‐1 modulates many basic cellular processes and is involved in the pathogenesis of a number of diseases, it is important to better understand its regulation. © 2009 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.