Creative Biolabs is a leading service provider that focuses on polyclonal, monoclonal, and recombinant antibody development for research, diagnosis, and potential therapeutics. Based on our extensive experience and state-of-the-art platforms, Creative Biolabs now offers a series of biomarker-specific IVD (in vitro diagnostic) antibody & immunoassay development services to clients globally. Here, we introduce the VDAC2 as a potential marker for cancer diagnosis.
The voltage-dependent anion-selective channel protein 2 (VDAC2) is encoded by the VDAC2 gene located on chromosome 10. VDAC2 shares high structural homology with the other two VDAC isoforms (VDAC1 and VDAC3). The molecular weight of VDACs varies from 32KD~34 kDa. They are expressed in nearly all mammalian tissues, of which VDAC2 is highly expressed in the heart and has a lower level in the liver. VDACs serve crucial roles in the regulation of cell metabolism, spermatogenesis, and mitochondrial apoptosis. Besides, VDAC2 is involved in cardiac contractions and pulmonary circulation. It has also been revealed that VDAC2 is associated with the immune response to IBD (infectious bursal disease).
Notably, it has shown that VDAC2 possesses unique features of being embryonically lethal and anti-apoptosis. It has demonstrated that VDAC2 functions as an anti-apoptotic factor by preventing Bak oligomerization in the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) in normal cells. Moreover, VDAC2 can act as a metabolite flux effector by transport ATP/ADP, NAD/NADH, Ca2+, and other small molecules across the MOM. However, this ability is weaker than VDAC1. Two reasons that contributed to the difference of VDAC2 from VDAC1 are the unusual enrichment of cysteines and the additional 11-residue extension of the N-terminal helix. Besides, VDAC2 is essential for Bak recruitment and apoptosis induction in the condition of viral infection.
Fig.1 VDAC2 is important for BAK and BAX targeting mitochondria.1
Aberrant expression of VDAC2 has been discovered in various physiological and pathological conditions, such as adipogenesis, deprivation, and aging. Overexpression of VDAC2 has been found in different solid tumor types, such as melanoma, follicular adenoma, epithelial thyroid tumors, breast cancer, and liver cancer. It is reported that a high transcript level of VDAC2 is associated with increased levels of tumor recurrence and resistance to hormonal therapy. Besides, VDAC2 has been demonstrated to be a novel therapeutic target in many tumors.
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Reference
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