Calpain 6: Proteins and Enzymes

Calpains are ubiquitous, well-conserved family of calcium-dependent, cysteine proteases. The calpain proteins areheterodimers consisting of an invariant small subunit and variable large subunits. The large subunit possesses acysteine protease domain, and both subunits possess calcium-binding domains. Calpains have been implicated inneurodegenerative processes, as their activation can be triggered by calcium influx and oxidative stress. The proteinencoded by this gene is highly expressed in the placenta. Its C-terminal region lacks any homology to thecalmodulin-like domain of other calpains. The protein lacks critical active site residues and thus is suggested to beproteolytically inactive. The protein may play a role in tumor formation by inhibiting apoptosis and promotingangiogenesis. (provided by RefSeq)