Cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1) is a

cytokine Cytokines are a broad and loose category of small proteins (~5–25 kDa) important in cell signaling. Cytokines are peptides and cannot cross the lipid bilayer of cells to enter the cytoplasm. Cytokines have been shown to be involved in au ...

. It is a cardiac hypertrophic factor of 21.5 kDa and a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

member of the IL-6 cytokine family.

Pathology

CT-1 is associated with the pathophysiology of

heart diseases Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, ...

, including hypertension, myocardial infarction, valvular heart disease, and congestive heart failure.

Mode of action

The protein exerts its cellular effects by interacting with the

glycoprotein 130 Glycoprotein 130 (also known as gp130, IL6ST, IL6R-beta or CD130) is a transmembrane protein which is the founding member of the class of all cytokine receptors. It forms one subunit of the type I cytokine receptor within the IL-6 receptor famil ...

(gp130)/

leukemia inhibitory factor Leukemia inhibitory factor, or LIF, is an interleukin 6 class cytokine that affects cell growth by inhibiting differentiation. When LIF levels drop, the cells differentiate. Function LIF derives its name from its ability to induce the terminal ...

receptor beta (LIFR) heterodimer. In addition, CT-1 activates

phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks), also called phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases, are a family of enzymes involved in cellular functions such as cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, motility, survival and intracellular trafficking, which i ...

(PI-3 kinase) in cardiac myocytes and enhances transcription factor

NF-κB Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) is a protein complex that controls transcription of DNA, cytokine production and cell survival. NF-κB is found in almost all animal cell types and is involved in cellular ...

DNA -binding activities. CT-1 is highly expressed in the heart, skeletal muscle, prostate and ovary and to lower levels in lung, kidney, pancreas, thymus, testis and small intestine.

References

External links

* * {{Cytokine receptor modulators