Evolving understanding of translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO).

ABSTRACT: The translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO) has been the focus of intense research by the biomedical community and the pharmaceutical industry because of its apparent involvement in many disease-related processes. These include steroidogenesis, apoptosis, inflammation, neurological disease and cancer, resulting in the use of TSPO as a biomarker and its potential as a drug target. Despite more than 30 years of study, the precise function of TSPO remains elusive. A recent breakthrough in determining the high-resolution crystal structures of bacterial homologs of mitochondrial TSPO provides new insight into the structural and functional properties at a molecular level and new opportunities for investigating the significance of this ancient and highly conserved protein family. The availability of a

SUBMITTER: Li F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4567528 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature