kallikrein-7; hK7; serine protease 6; stratum corneum chymotryptic enzyme; hSCCE (KLK7, PRSS6, SCCE)

Function

• may catalyze the degradation of intercellular cohesive structures in the cornified layer of the skin in the continuous shedding of cells from the skin surface
• specific for amino acid residues with aromatic side chains in the P1 position
• cleaves insulin B chain at '6-Leu-|-Cys-7', '16-Tyr-|-Leu-17', '25-Phe-|-Tyr-26' & '26-Tyr-|-Thr-27'
• could play a role in the activation of precursors to inflammatory cytokines

Inhibition:

• inhibited by Zn2+ & Cu2+ at low micromolar concentrations

Structure

• belongs to the peptidase S1 family, kallikrein subfamily
• contains 1 peptidase S1 domain

Compartment

• secreted
• in ovarian carcinoma, secreted & also observed at the apical membrane & in cytoplasm at the invasive front

Alternative splicing

named isoforms=2

Expression

• abundantly expressed in the skin & is expressed by keratinocytes in the epidermis
• also expressed in the brain, mammary gland, cerebellum, spinal cord & kidney
• lower expression in salivary glands, uterus, thymus, thyroid, placenta, trachea & testis
• induced by estrogens & glucocorticoids in a breast carcinoma cell line

Pathology

• up-regulated in ovarian carcinoma, especially late-stage serous carcinoma, compared with normal ovaries & benign adenomas (at protein level)

More general terms

• kallikrein
• glycoprotein

Database

• Entrez gene: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=gene&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Graphics&list_uids=5650
• Kegg: http://www.genome.jp/dbget-bin/www_bget?hsa:5650
• OMIM: https://mirror.omim.org/entry/604438
• UniProt: http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/P49862.html