Function
While previous studies have indicated MetAP2 catalyzes the removal of N-terminal methionine residues in vitro, the function of this enzyme in vivo may be more complex. For example, a significant correlation exists between the inhibition of the enzymatic activity of MetAP2 and inhibition of cell growth, thus implicating the enzyme in endothelial cell proliferation. For this reason, scientists have singled out MetAP2 as a potential target for the inhibition of angiogenesis. Moreover, studies have demonstrated that MetAP2 copurifies and interacts with the α subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2), a protein that is necessary for protein synthesis in vivo. Specifically, MetAP2 protects eIF-2α from inhibitory phosphorylation from the enzyme eIF-2α kinase, inhibits RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR)-catalyzed eIF-2 R-subunit phosphorylation, and also reverses PKR-mediated inhibition of protein synthesis in intact cells.
Read more about this topic: METAP2
Famous quotes containing the word function:
“The fact remains that the human being in early childhood learns to consider one or the other aspect of bodily function as evil, shameful, or unsafe. There is not a culture which does not use a combination of these devils to develop, by way of counterpoint, its own style of faith, pride, certainty, and initiative.”
—Erik H. Erikson (1904–1994)
“The function of literature, through all its mutations, has been to make us aware of the particularity of selves, and the high authority of the self in its quarrel with its society and its culture. Literature is in that sense subversive.”
—Lionel Trilling (1905–1975)
“If the children and youth of a nation are afforded opportunity to develop their capacities to the fullest, if they are given the knowledge to understand the world and the wisdom to change it, then the prospects for the future are bright. In contrast, a society which neglects its children, however well it may function in other respects, risks eventual disorganization and demise.”
—Urie Bronfenbrenner (b. 1917)