Platelet-derived growth factor D is a
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''PDGFD''
gene
In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...
.
The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the
platelet-derived growth factor
Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is one among numerous growth factors that regulate cell growth and division. In particular, PDGF plays a significant role in blood vessel formation, the growth of blood vessels from already-existing bloo ...
family. The four members of this family are
mitogenic factors for cells of
mesenchymal origin and are characterized by a core
motif of eight cysteines, seven of which are found in this factor. This gene product only forms
homodimers and, therefore, does not dimerize with the other three family members. It differs from alpha and beta members of this family in having an unusual
N-terminal
The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the amin ...
domain, the
CUB domain. Two splice variants have been identified for this gene.
References
Further reading
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