Calcineurin

Crystallographic structure of calcineurin heterodimer composed of the catalytic (PPP3CA) and regulatory (PPP3R1) subunits.[1]

Calcineurin (CaN) is a calcium and calmodulin dependent serine/threonine protein phosphatase (also known as protein phosphatase 3, and calcium-dependent serine-threonine phosphatase).[2] It activates the T cells of the immune system and can be blocked by drugs. Calcineurin activates nuclear factor of activated T cell cytoplasmic (NFATc), a transcription factor, by dephosphorylating it. The activated NFATc is then translocated into the nucleus, where it upregulates the expression of interleukin 2 (IL-2), which, in turn, stimulates the growth and differentiation of the T cell response. Calcineurin is the target of a class of drugs called calcineurin inhibitors, which include ciclosporin, voclosporin, pimecrolimus and tacrolimus.

  1. ^ PDB: 1AUI​; Kissinger CR, Parge HE, Knighton DR, Lewis CT, Pelletier LA, Tempczyk A, Kalish VJ, Tucker KD, Showalter RE, Moomaw EW (December 1995). "Crystal structures of human calcineurin and the human FKBP12-FK506-calcineurin complex". Nature. 378 (6557): 641–4. Bibcode:1995Natur.378..641K. doi:10.1038/378641a0. PMID 8524402. S2CID 4337105.
  2. ^ Liu L, Zhang J, Yuan J, Dang Y, Yang C, Chen X, Xu J, Yu L (March 2005). "Characterization of a human regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 3 gene (PPP3RL) expressed specifically in testis". Mol. Biol. Rep. 32 (1): 41–5. doi:10.1007/s11033-004-4250-4. PMID 15865209. S2CID 43848098.