Exosomes are spherical to cup-shaped bilayered membrane enclosed nanosize vesicles (30-100 nm) which have the ability to shuttle active cargoes between cells. Johnstone et al. 1987 pioneered in documenting the generation of exosomes in differentiating reticulocytes as a result of the fusion of multi-vesicular endosomes/MVBs with the plasma membrane.
Akt1 is a serine/threonine-specific protein kinase involved in many cellular signaling pathways. The major function of this kinase is to mediate cell survival, but it also plays key roles in various other cellular functions such as glycogen synthesis and cell growth. Akt1 acts as a transducer for growth factor receptors that modulate phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) activity. Akt is believed to be a factor in cancer as the tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) was found to antagonize both PI-3 kinase and Akt kinase activity.
A-kinase anchor proteins (AKAPs), such as AKAP95/AKAP8, are scaffold proteins that contain a binding domain for the RI/RII subunit of protein kinase A (PKA). AKAPs orchestrate and synchronize cellular events by tethering the cAMP-dependent PKA and other signaling enzymes to organelles and membranes. This gene encodes a nuclear A-kinase anchor protein that binds to the RII alpha subunit of PKA and may play a role in chromosome condensation during mitosis (1).
Calreticulin is a Calcium binding chaperone that has multiple functions both inside and outside the endoplasmic reticulum. Calreticulin is involved in the quality control of newly synthesized proteins and glycoproteins, interacting with various other ER chaperones, specifically Calnexin.
c-Myc is a well-characterized transcription factor encoded by the c-Myc gene on human chromosome 8q24. This cellular proto-oncogene, also known as p62, is commonly activated in a variety of tumor cells and plays a crucial role in cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and cell cycle progression.
Phosphotyrosine is the phosphorylated version of the amino acid tyrosine, which results from the activation of intracellular protein kinases (e.g. via growth factors) during normal growth and development, well as in transformation and oncogenesis. Phosphorylation of histidine, serine, threonine and tyrosine residues acts as a signaling system to control many cellular signaling pathways.
The protein encoded by mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin), also known as dTOR in Drosophila, belongs to a family of phosphatidylinositol kinase-related kinases. These kinases regulate fundamental processes of cell growth, proliferation, metabolism
Connexin 43/GJA1 is a member of the connexin gene family and the most abundant protein component found within gap junctions. Gap junctions are the cell-to-cell contacts that provide direct intercellular communication between cells by regulating back and forth diffusion of low molecular weight molecules. As such, they regulate quite an extensive range of key cellular processes.
