Kallikrein-related peptidase 4 is a protein which in humans is encoded by the KLK4gene.[5][6][7]
Kallikreins are a subgroup of serine proteases having diverse physiological functions.[8] Growing evidence suggests that many kallikreins are implicated in carcinogenesis and some have potential as novel cancer and other disease biomarkers. In particular, they may serve as biomarkers for both prostate cancer and breast cancer.
This gene is one of the fifteen kallikrein subfamily members located in a cluster on chromosome 19. In some tissues its expression is hormonally regulated. The expression pattern of a similar mouse protein in murine developing teeth supports a role for the protein in the degradation of enamel proteins.[9] Alternate splice variants for this gene have been described, but their biological validity has not been determined.[10]
Yousef GM, Obiezu CV, Luo LY, et al. (1999). "Prostase/KLK-L1 is a new member of the human kallikrein gene family, is expressed in prostate and breast tissues, and is hormonally regulated". Cancer Res. 59 (17): 4252–6. PMID10485467.
DuPont BR, Hu CC, Reveles X, Simmer JP (2000). "Assignment of serine protease 17 (PRSS17) to human chromosome bands 19q13.3→q13.4 by in situ hybridization". Cytogenet. Cell Genet. 86 (3–4): 212–3. doi:10.1159/000015340. PMID10575207.
Hu JC, Zhang C, Sun X, et al. (2000). "Characterization of the mouse and human PRSS17 genes, their relationship to other serine proteases, and the expression of PRSS17 in developing mouse incisors". Gene. 251 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1016/S0378-1119(00)00203-1. PMID10863090.
Gan L, Lee I, Smith R, et al. (2001). "Sequencing and expression analysis of the serine protease gene cluster located in chromosome 19q13 region". Gene. 257 (1): 119–30. doi:10.1016/S0378-1119(00)00382-6. PMID11054574.
Obiezu CV, Diamandis EP (2001). "An alternatively spliced variant of KLK4 expressed in prostatic tissue". Clin. Biochem. 33 (7): 599–600. doi:10.1016/S0009-9120(00)00178-8. PMID11124349.
Takayama TK, Carter CA, Deng T (2001). "Activation of prostate-specific antigen precursor (pro-PSA) by prostin, a novel human prostatic serine protease identified by degenerate PCR". Biochemistry. 40 (6): 1679–87. doi:10.1021/bi002129r. PMID11327827.
Korkmaz KS, Korkmaz CG, Pretlow TG, Saatcioglu F (2001). "Distinctly different gene structure of KLK4/KLK-L1/prostase/ARM1 compared with other members of the kallikrein family: intracellular localization, alternative cDNA forms, and Regulation by multiple hormones". DNA Cell Biol. 20 (7): 435–45. doi:10.1089/104454901750361497. PMID11506707.
Takayama TK, McMullen BA, Nelson PS, et al. (2002). "Characterization of hK4 (prostase), a prostate-specific serine protease: activation of the precursor of prostate specific antigen (pro-PSA) and single-chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator and degradation of prostatic acid phosphatase". Biochemistry. 40 (50): 15341–8. doi:10.1021/bi015775e. PMID11735417.