Role in Disease
tTG is best known for its link with celiac disease. Anti-transglutaminase antibodies (ATA) result in a form of gluten sensitivity in which a cellular response to Triticeae glutens that are crosslinked to tTG are able to stimulate transglutaminase specific B-cell responses that eventually result in the production of ATA IgA and IgG.
tTG is believed to be involved in several neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer, Parkinson and Huntington diseases. Such neurological diseases are characterized in part by the abnormal aggregation of proteins due to the increased activity of protein crosslinking in the affected brain. Additionally, specific proteins associated with these disorders have been found to be in vivo and in vitro substrates of tTG. Although tTG is up regulated in the areas of the brain affected by Huntington's disease, a recent study showed that increasing levels of tTG do not affect the onset and/or progression of the disease in mice.
Recent studies suggest that tTG also plays a role in inflammation, and tumor biology. tTG expression is elevated in multiple cancer cell types and is implicated in drug resistance and metastasis due to its ability to promote mesenchymal transition and stem cell like properties.
Read more about this topic: Tissue Transglutaminase
Famous quotes containing the words role and/or disease:
“When things turn out pretty much as expected, parents give little thought to how much they have influenced the outcome. When things don’t turn out as expected, parents give a great deal of thought to the role they play.”
—Arlene Harder (20th century)
“Your responsibility as a parent is not as great as you might imagine. You need not supply the world with the next conqueror of disease or a major movie star. If your child simply grows up to be someone who does not use the word “collectible” as a noun, you can consider yourself an unqualified success.”
—Fran Lebowitz (20th century)