Fibrinogen is the main protein of blood coagulation system. It is a large protein and it consists of two identical subunits that contain three polypeptide chains: alpha, beta and gamma. All chains are connected with each other by a number of disulfide bonds. Fibrinopeptides A (1 to 16 amino acids) and B (1 to 17 amino acids) are released by thrombin from the N terminal parts of alpha and beta chains, respectively. In this way fibrinogen is converted into fibrin, which by means of polymeriza

NF-kappa-B is a ubiquitous transcription factor involved in several biological processes. It is held in the cytoplasm in an inactive state by specific inhibitors. Upon degradation of the inhibitor, NF-kappa-B moves to the nucleus and activates transcription of specific genes. NF-kappa-B is composed of NFKB1 or NFKB2 bound to either REL, RELA, or RELB. The most abundant form of NF-kappa-B is NFKB1 complexed with the product of this gene, RELA. Four transcript variants encoding different isoform

Estrogen and progesterone receptor are members of a family of transcription factors that are regulated by the binding of their cognate ligands. The interaction of hormone-bound estrogen receptors with estrogen responsive elements(EREs) alters transcription of ERE-containing genes. The carboxy terminal region of the estrgen receptor contains the ligand binding domain, the amino terminus serves as the transactivation domain, and the DNA binding domain is centrally located. Two forms of estrogen

Apolipoprotein E, a main apoprotein of the chylomicron, binds to a specific receptor on liver cells and peripheral cells and is essential for the normal catabolism of triglyceride-rich lipoprotein constituents. ApoE exists in three major isoforms; E2, E3, and E4, which differ from one another by a single amino-acid substitution. Compared with E3 and E4, E2 exhibits the lowest receptor binding affinity. Defects in ApoE are a cause of hyperlipoproteinemia type III due to increased plasma chol

Mast cells contain a number of preformed chemicals mediators such as histamine, chymase, carboxypeptidase and proteolytic tryptase. Human Mast Cell Chymase is considered to be an important marker of mast cells as well as an important mediator of inflammation.