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The metamorphosis of a molecule: from soluble enzyme to the leukocyte receptor CD38
Author(s) -
Ferrero Enza,
Malavasi Fabio
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of leukocyte biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.819
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1938-3673
pISSN - 0741-5400
DOI - 10.1002/jlb.65.2.151
Subject(s) - cd38 , biology , nad+ kinase , enzyme , cytosol , microbiology and biotechnology , cofactor , glycoprotein , biochemistry , receptor , gene , membrane glycoproteins , stem cell , cd34
Human CD38 is a 45‐kDa type II membrane glycoprotein with an intricate pattern of expression in leukocytes, although evidence is accumulating of its quite widespread expression in cells of nonvascular origin. CD38 is a member of a nascent eukaryotic gene family encoding cytosolic and membrane‐bound enzymes whose substrate is NAD, a coenzyme ubiquitously distributed in nature. Functionally, CD38 is an eclectic molecule with the ability not only to catalyze but also to signal, to mobilize calcium, and to adhere to itself, to hyaluronan, and to other ligands. Interaction with CD38 on various leukocyte subpopulations has profound though diverse consequences on their life‐span, but these effects seem to be independent of the enzymatic activity of the molecule. CD38 challenges our expectations of a surface molecule and we must sift through its many guises to unmask its true nature. J. Leukoc. Biol. 65: 151–161; 1999.