calcineurin - possible applications

A Stanford team study found calcineurin as an important protein for health of beta islets of pancreas. Transplant patients' receiving calcineurin inhibitors (Cyclosporin, Tacrolimus and Pimecrolimus ) as immuno-suppressive therapy have greatly increased risk of developing diabetes which led researchers to investigate calcineurin actions. The researchers said drugs that enhance the activity of calcineurin or NFAT could become a new treatment for type-2 diabetes, in which the beta cells do not produce enough insulin.... [Nature 443, 345-349(21 September 2006),  Original BBC link]

Calcineurin - a serine/threonine protein phosphatase (PP3 or PP2B) second messenger system protein is involved in many vital biological processes including dephosphorylation of nuclear factor of activated T cell (NFATc), a transcription factor that can then go into the nucleus and turn on genes involved in IL-2 synthesis for subsequent T-cell activation and differentiation in cytotoxic T-cells and NK cells.....Read more at http://www.unc.edu/~hke/cncyp.html , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcineurin

Also to watch out: Calcineurin helps newborns breathe easy: Calcineurin role in fetal lung maturity 21 Sep 2006
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