ADAM28 polyclonal antibody

The ADAM (a disintegrin and metalloprotease) protein family, which includes over 30 membrane-anchored, glycosylated, Zn2+ dependent proteases, plays a role in cell-cell and cell-matrix interface related processes, including fertilization, muscle fusion, secretion of TNFα (tumor necrosis factor α), and modulation of the neurogenic function of Notch and Delta. The ADAM proteins possess a signal-domain, a pro-domain, a metalloprotease domain, a disintegrin domain (integrin ligand), a cysteine-rich region, an epidermal growth factorlike domain, a transmembrane domain and a cytoplasmic tail. ADAMs are expressed in a wide range of mammalian tissues and several are abundantly expressed in the male reproductive tract. ADAM28, also designated MDC-L,is more closely related to snake venom metalloproteases (SVMPs) than to other ADAM family members. ADAM28 displays a high level of expression in lymphocytes and epididymis, and functions mainly on the cell surface, where it mediates cell adhesion through its binding to integrin α4β1. The gene encoding human ADAM28 maps to chromosome 8p21.2.