The Glandular Kallikrein Family of Enzymes: Tissue Specific Expression and Hormonal Regulation

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Abstract
Introduction THE glandular or tissue kallikreins are a subgroup of serine proteases, for the most part arginylesteropeptidases, which are involved in the posttranslational processing of polypeptide precursors to their biologically active forms. In the past decade, various aspects of the biochemistry, physiology (primarily renal), and more recently, molecular biology of the kallikrein(s) have been well reviewed by several authors (1–10). However, this is a rapidly expanding area of interest, and increasingly much more information has become available particularly with regard to the identification of potential, new family members. In this light, this review will be thus primarily concerned with the hormonal regulation and potential function of both known and potentially novel kallikrein (gene) family members in those tissues for which expression and/or localization have been described. However, I will also briefly describe some historical, biochemical, and enzymatic aspects of kallikrein physiology and those aspects of the molecular biology of the kallikrein gene family that are pertinent to this review.

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