Progastricsin Explained

Progastricsin also known as pepsinogen C or pepsinogen II is a pepsinogen precursor of the enzyme gastricsin that in humans is encoded by the PGC gene.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Function

Progastricsin is an aspartic proteinase that belongs to the peptidase family A1. The encoded protein is a digestive enzyme that is produced in the stomach and constitutes a major component of the gastric mucosa. This protein is also secreted into the serum. This protein is synthesized as an inactive zymogen that includes a highly basic prosegment. This enzyme is converted into its active mature form at low pH by sequential cleavage of the prosegment that is carried out by the enzyme itself.^[4]

Clinical significance

Polymorphisms in this gene are associated with susceptibility to gastric cancers. Serum levels of this enzyme are used as a biomarker for certain gastric diseases including Helicobacter pylori related gastritis.^[4]

See also

• Pepsinogen

Further reading

• Richter C, Tanaka T, Yada RY . Mechanism of activation of the gastric aspartic proteinases: pepsinogen, progastricsin and prochymosin. . Biochem. J. . 335 . 3. 481–90 . 1998 . 9794784 . 10.1042/bj3350481. 1219805.
• Sánchez LM, Freije JP, Merino AM, etal . Isolation and characterization of a pepsin C zymogen produced by human breast tissues. . J. Biol. Chem. . 267 . 34 . 24725–31 . 1992 . 10.1016/S0021-9258(18)35824-1 . 1280267 . free .
• Ichinose M, Miki K, Wong RN, etal . Methylation and expression of human pepsinogen genes in normal tissues and their alteration in stomach cancer. . Jpn. J. Cancer Res. . 82 . 6 . 686–92 . 1991 . 1906854 . 10.1111/j.1349-7006.1991.tb01904.x. 5918501 .
• Athauda SB, Tanji M, Kageyama T, Takahashi K . A comparative study on the NH2-terminal amino acid sequences and some other properties of six isozymic forms of human pepsinogens and pepsins. . J. Biochem. . 106 . 5 . 920–7 . 1990 . 2515193 . 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jbchem.a122952.
• Westerveld BD, Pals G, Bosma A, etal . Gastric proteases in Barrett's esophagus. . Gastroenterology . 93 . 4 . 774–8 . 1987 . 3305135 . 10.1016/0016-5085(87)90439-2.
• Foltmann B, Jensen AL . Human progastricsin. Analysis of intermediates during activation into gastricsin and determination of the amino acid sequence of the propart. . Eur. J. Biochem. . 128 . 1 . 63–70 . 1983 . 6816595 . 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1982.tb06931.x . free .
• Moore SA, Sielecki AR, Chernaia MM, etal . Crystal and molecular structures of human progastricsin at 1.62 A resolution. . J. Mol. Biol. . 247 . 3 . 466–85 . 1995 . 7714902 . 10.1006/jmbi.1994.0154 .
• Maruyama K, Sugano S . Oligo-capping: a simple method to replace the cap structure of eukaryotic mRNAs with oligoribonucleotides. . Gene . 138 . 1–2 . 171–4 . 1994 . 8125298 . 10.1016/0378-1119(94)90802-8 .
• Aabakken L, Axelsson CK, Szecsi PB . Pepsinogen A and C serum levels in relation to acute NSAID-associated mucosal lesions in healthy volunteers. . Scand. J. Gastroenterol. . 28 . 6 . 557–60 . 1993 . 8322031 . 10.3109/00365529309098266 .
• Aoki T, Tomaki E, Morikawa J, etal . Purification of pepsinogens from human urine and electrophoretic analysis by caseogram print. . Biochem. Mol. Biol. Int. . 39 . 6 . 1147–56 . 1997 . 8876968 . 10.1080/15216549600201332. free .
• Diamandis EP, Nadkarni S, Bhaumik B, etal . Immunofluorometric assay of pepsinogen C and preliminary clinical applications. . Clin. Chem. . 43 . 8 Pt 1 . 1365–71 . 1997 . 9267315 . 10.1093/clinchem/43.8.1365. free .
• Suzuki Y, Yoshitomo-Nakagawa K, Maruyama K, etal . Construction and characterization of a full length-enriched and a 5'-end-enriched cDNA library. . Gene . 200 . 1–2 . 149–56 . 1997 . 9373149 . 10.1016/S0378-1119(97)00411-3 .
• Khan AR, Cherney MM, Tarasova NI, James MN . Structural characterization of activation 'intermediate 2' on the pathway to human gastricsin. . Nat. Struct. Biol. . 4 . 12 . 1010–5 . 1998 . 9406551 . 10.1038/nsb1297-1010 . 26283922 .
• Plebani M, Basso D, Navaglia F, DiMario F . Helicobacter pylori genotypes influence serum pepsinogen C levels. . Helicobacter . 2 . 4 . 172–5 . 1998 . 9421118 . 10.1111/j.1523-5378.1997.tb00082.x . 23419977 .
• Rojo JV, Merino AM, González LO, Vizoso F . Expression and clinical significance of pepsinogen C in epithelial ovarian carcinomas. . Eur. J. Obstet. Gynecol. Reprod. Biol. . 104 . 1 . 58–63 . 2003 . 12128264 . 10.1016/S0301-2115(01)00610-8 .
• Strausberg RL, Feingold EA, Grouse LH, etal . Generation and initial analysis of more than 15,000 full-length human and mouse cDNA sequences. . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. . 99 . 26 . 16899–903 . 2003 . 12477932 . 10.1073/pnas.242603899 . 139241. 2002PNAS...9916899M . free .

Notes and References

1. Hayano T, Sogawa K, Ichihara Y, Fujii-Kuriyama Y, Takahashi K . Primary structure of human pepsinogen C gene . J. Biol. Chem. . 263 . 3 . 1382–5 . January 1988 . 10.1016/S0021-9258(19)57314-8 . 3335549 . free .
2. Pals G, Azuma T, Mohandas TK, Bell GI, Bacon J, Samloff IM, Walz DA, Barr PJ, Taggart RT . Human pepsinogen C (progastricsin) polymorphism: evidence for a single locus located at 6p21.1-pter . Genomics . 4 . 2 . 137–48 . February 1989 . 2567697 . 10.1016/0888-7543(89)90292-9.
3. Taggart RT, Cass LG, Mohandas TK, Derby P, Barr PJ, Pals G, Bell GI . Human pepsinogen C (progastricsin). Isolation of cDNA clones, localization to chromosome 6, and sequence homology with pepsinogen A . J. Biol. Chem. . 264 . 1 . 375–9 . January 1989 . 10.1016/S0021-9258(17)31268-1 . 2909526 . free .
4. Web site: Entrez Gene: PGC progastricsin (pepsinogen C).