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Thioredoxin is a class of small redox proteins known to be present in all organisms. It plays a role in many important biological processes, including redox signaling. In humans, it is encoded by the ''TXN'' gene. Loss-of-function mutation of either of the two human thioredoxin genes is lethal at the four-cell stage of the developing embryo. Although not entirely understood, thioredoxin plays a central role in humans and is increasingly linked to medicine through their response to reactive oxygen species (ROS). In plants, thioredoxins regulate a spectrum of critical functions, ranging from photosynthesis to growth, flowering and the development and germination of seeds. It has also recently been found to play a role in cell-to-cell communication. == Function == Thioredoxins are proteins that act as antioxidants by facilitating the reduction of other proteins by cysteine thiol-disulfide exchange. Thioredoxins are found in nearly all known organisms and are essential for life in mammals. Thioredoxin is a 12-kD oxidoreductase enzyme containing a dithiol-disulfide active site. It is ubiquitous and found in many organisms from plants and bacteria to mammals. Multiple in vitro substrates for thioredoxin have been identified, including ribonuclease, choriogonadotropins, coagulation factors, glucocorticoid receptor, and insulin. Reduction of insulin is classically used as an activity test.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=gene&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=7295 )〕 Thioredoxins are characterized at the level of their amino acid sequence by the presence of two vicinal cysteines in a CXXC motif. These two cysteines are the key to the ability of thioredoxin to reduce other proteins. Thioredoxin proteins also have a characteristic tertiary structure termed the thioredoxin fold. The thioredoxins are kept in the reduced state by the flavoenzyme thioredoxin reductase, in a NADPH-dependent reaction. Thioredoxins act as electron donors to peroxidases and ribonucleotide reductase. The related glutaredoxins share many of the functions of thioredoxins, but are reduced by glutathione rather than a specific reductase. The benefit of thioredoxins to reduce oxidative stress is shown by transgenic mice that overexpress thioredoxin, are more resistant to inflammation, and live 35% longer — supporting the free radical theory of aging. However, the controls of this study were short lived, which may have contributed to the apparent increase in longevity.〔Muller, F.L., Lustgarten, M.S., Jang, Y., Richardson, A. & Van Remmen, H. Trends in oxidative aging theories. Free Radic Biol Med 43, 477-503 (2007).〕 Plants have an unusually complex complement of Trxs composed of six well-defined types (Trxs f, m, x, y, h, and o) that reside in different cell compartments and function in an array of processes. In 2010 it was discovered for the first time that thioredoxin proteins are able to move from cell to cell, representing a novel form of cellular communication in plants.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Thioredoxin」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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