Journey of cystatins from being mere thiol protease inhibitors to at heart of many pathological conditions.

ABSTRACT: Cystatins are thiol proteinase inhibitors (TPI), present ubiquitously in animals, plants and micro-organisms. These are not merely inhibitors rather they are at heart of many pathological conditions ranging from diabetes to renal failure. These are essential for maintenance of protein balance of the cell; once this balance gets disturbed, it may lead to cell death. Thus, cystatins cannot be merely regarded as TPI's as these have been found to play a pivotal role in tumorigenesis and neurodegenerative diseases. Many studies have reported the variation in cystatin level in incidences of different types of cancer; highlighting an important role played by these inhibitors in cancer development and progression. Cystatin C is increasingly replacing creatinine as a biomarker of glomerular filtrat

SUBMITTER: Shamsi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7112400 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature