Description
Tenascin C/TNC is a member of the Tenascin family of extracellular matrix proteins. It is secreted as a disulfide-linked homohexamer whose subunits can vary in size from approximately 200 kDa to over 300 kDa due to differences in glycosylation. Hman Tenascin C monomer is synthesized as a precursor with a 22 amino acid (aa) signal sequence and a 2179 aa mature chai). Mature human Tenascin C (isoform 1) shares 84% aa sequence identity with mature mouse Tenascin C. In the developing embryo, Tenascin C is expressed during neural, skeletal, and vascular morphogenesis . In the adult, it virtually disappears with continued basal expression detectable only in tendon-associated tissues. However, greatup-regulation in expression occurs in tissues undergoing remodeling processes seen during wound repair and neovascularization or in pathological states such as inflammation or tumorigenesis .