Four Decades After the Discovery of Regenerating Islet-Derived (Reg) Proteins: Current Understanding and Challenges.

ABSTRACT: Regenerating islet-derived (Reg) proteins have emerged as multifunctional agents with pro-proliferative, anti-apoptotic, differentiation-inducing and bactericidal properties. Over the last 40 years since first discovered, Reg proteins have been implicated in a gamut of maladies including diabetes, various types of cancer of the digestive tract, and Alzheimer disease. Surprisingly though, a consensus is still absent on the regulation of their expression, and molecular underpinning of their function. Here, we provide a critical appraisal of recent findings in the field of Reg protein biology. Specifically, the structural characteristics are reviewed particularly in connection with established or purported functions of different members of the Reg family. Moreover, Reg expression patterns in

SUBMITTER: Chen Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6817481 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature