This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Protein isoform is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
A protein isoform is a version of a protein with only small differences to another isoform of the same protein. [1] Different forms of a protein may be produced from different but related genes, or may arise from the same gene by alternative splicing. A large number of isoforms are caused by single nucleotide polymorphisms, small genetic differences between alleles of the same gene.
The discovery of isoforms explains the apparently small number of coding genes revealed in the human genome project: the ability to create categorically different proteins from the same gene increases the diversity of the proteome. Isoforms are readily described and discovered by microarray studies and cDNA libraries.
Glycoforms
A glycoform is an isoform where different forms of a glycoprotein have different polysaccharides attached to them, by either posttranslational or cotranslational modifications.
Examples
- Creatine kinase, the presence of which in the blood can be used as an aid in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction, exists in 3 isoforms.
- Hyaluronan synthase, the enzyme responsible for the production of hyaluronan, has three isoforms in mammalian cells.
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008) |
Links
 |
This protein-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 31 July 2008, at 18:02.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Protein isoform".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.