Asporin Explained

Asporin is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ASPN gene.^[1]

Function

ASPN belongs to a family of leucine-rich repeat (LRR) proteins associated with the cartilage matrix. The name asporin reflects the unique aspartate-rich N terminus and the overall similarity to decorin (MIM 125255) (Lorenzo et al., 2001).

Further reading

• Lorenzo P, Aspberg A, Onnerfjord P, Bayliss MT, Neame PJ, Heinegard D . Identification and characterization of asporin. a novel member of the leucine-rich repeat protein family closely related to decorin and biglycan . The Journal of Biological Chemistry . 276 . 15 . 12201–11 . Apr 2001 . 11152692 . 10.1074/jbc.M010932200 . free .
• Henry SP, Takanosu M, Boyd TC, Mayne PM, Eberspaecher H, Zhou W, de Crombrugghe B, Hook M, Mayne R . Expression pattern and gene characterization of asporin. a newly discovered member of the leucine-rich repeat protein family . The Journal of Biological Chemistry . 276 . 15 . 12212–21 . Apr 2001 . 11152695 . 10.1074/jbc.M011290200 . free .
• Yamada S, Murakami S, Matoba R, Ozawa Y, Yokokoji T, Nakahira Y, Ikezawa K, Takayama S, Matsubara K, Okada H . Expression profile of active genes in human periodontal ligament and isolation of PLAP-1, a novel SLRP family gene . Gene . 275 . 2 . 279–86 . Sep 2001 . 11587855 . 10.1016/S0378-1119(01)00683-7 .
• Clark HF, Gurney AL, Abaya E, Baker K, Baldwin D, Brush J, Chen J, Chow B, Chui C, Crowley C, Currell B, Deuel B, Dowd P, Eaton D, Foster J, Grimaldi C, Gu Q, Hass PE, Heldens S, Huang A, Kim HS, Klimowski L, Jin Y, Johnson S, Lee J, Lewis L, Liao D, Mark M, Robbie E, Sanchez C, Schoenfeld J, Seshagiri S, Simmons L, Singh J, Smith V, Stinson J, Vagts A, Vandlen R, Watanabe C, Wieand D, Woods K, Xie MH, Yansura D, Yi S, Yu G, Yuan J, Zhang M, Zhang Z, Goddard A, Wood WI, Godowski P, Gray A . The secreted protein discovery initiative (SPDI), a large-scale effort to identify novel human secreted and transmembrane proteins: a bioinformatics assessment . Genome Research . 13 . 10 . 2265–70 . Oct 2003 . 12975309 . 403697 . 10.1101/gr.1293003 .
• Kizawa H, Kou I, Iida A, Sudo A, Miyamoto Y, Fukuda A, Mabuchi A, Kotani A, Kawakami A, Yamamoto S, Uchida A, Nakamura K, Notoya K, Nakamura Y, Ikegawa S . An aspartic acid repeat polymorphism in asporin inhibits chondrogenesis and increases susceptibility to osteoarthritis . Nature Genetics . 37 . 2 . 138–44 . Feb 2005 . 15640800 . 10.1038/ng1496 . 6771016 .
• Rodriguez-Lopez J, Pombo-Suarez M, Liz M, Gomez-Reino JJ, Gonzalez A . Lack of association of a variable number of aspartic acid residues in the asporin gene with osteoarthritis susceptibility: case-control studies in Spanish Caucasians . . 8 . 3 . R55 . 2006 . 16542493 . 1526645 . 10.1186/ar1920 . free .
• Yamada S, Ozawa Y, Tomoeda M, Matoba R, Matsubara K, Murakami S . Regulation of PLAP-1 expression in periodontal ligament cells . Journal of Dental Research . 85 . 5 . 447–51 . May 2006 . 16632759 . 10.1177/154405910608500510 . 40160016 .
• Jiang Q, Shi D, Yi L, Ikegawa S, Wang Y, Nakamura T, Qiao D, Liu C, Dai J . Replication of the association of the aspartic acid repeat polymorphism in the asporin gene with knee-osteoarthritis susceptibility in Han Chinese . Journal of Human Genetics . 51 . 12 . 1068–72 . 2007 . 17024313 . 10.1007/s10038-006-0065-6 . free .
• Nakamura T, Shi D, Tzetis M, Rodriguez-Lopez J, Miyamoto Y, Tsezou A, Gonzalez A, Jiang Q, Kamatani N, Loughlin J, Ikegawa S . Meta-analysis of association between the ASPN D-repeat and osteoarthritis . Human Molecular Genetics . 16 . 14 . 1676–81 . Jul 2007 . 17517696 . 10.1093/hmg/ddm115 . free .
• Shi D, Nakamura T, Dai J, Yi L, Qin J, Chen D, Xu Z, Wang Y, Ikegawa S, Jiang Q . Association of the aspartic acid-repeat polymorphism in the asporin gene with age at onset of knee osteoarthritis in Han Chinese population . Journal of Human Genetics . 52 . 8 . 664–7 . 2007 . 17603749 . 10.1007/s10038-007-0166-x . free .
• Kou I, Nakajima M, Ikegawa S . Expression and regulation of the osteoarthritis-associated protein asporin . The Journal of Biological Chemistry . 282 . 44 . 32193–9 . Nov 2007 . 17804408 . 10.1074/jbc.M706262200 . free .
• Nakajima M, Kizawa H, Saitoh M, Kou I, Miyazono K, Ikegawa S . Mechanisms for asporin function and regulation in articular cartilage . The Journal of Biological Chemistry . 282 . 44 . 32185–92 . Nov 2007 . 17827158 . 10.1074/jbc.M700522200 . free .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Entrez Gene: ASPN asporin.