Component of the asymmetric unit membrane (AUM); a highly specialized biomembrane elaborated by terminally differentiated urothelial cells. May play an important role in normal bladder epithelial physiology, possibly in regulating membrane permeability of superficial umbrella cells or in stabilizing the apical membrane through AUM/cytoskeletal interactions (By similarity).
Interacting selectively and non-covalently with any monosaccharide. Monosaccharides are the simplest carbohydrates; they are polyhydroxy aldehydes H[CH(OH)]nC(=O)H or polyhydroxy ketones H[CHOH]nC(=O)[CHOH]mH with three or more carbon atoms. They form the constitutional repeating units of oligo- and polysaccharides.
Am. J. Pathol. 155, 1047-1050 (1999)[PubMed:10514386]
Uroplakins are the characteristic integral membrane proteins in terminally differentiated, superficial urothelial asymmetric unit membrane. Brenner tumors of the ovary and Walthard cell nests of Fallopian tubes have been considered to represent urothelial differentiation in the female genital tract, but no definitive differentiation marker has been demonstrated supporting such a conclusion. An immunohistochemical analysis was performed to assess the expression of uroplakins in these lesions as well as in various benign and neoplastic lesions and normal tissues of the female genital tract. Focal expression of uroplakins was observed on the luminal surface of ovarian Brenner tumor cells forming microcysts in all 5 cases examined. In contrast, uroplakins were slightly expressed in only 1 of 12 cases of Walthard cell nests, even in the presence of microcyst formation. Uroplakins were not expressed in other benign or malignant lesions or normal tissues of the female genital tract. These results support the hypothesis that the Brenner tumor and possibly Walthard cell nests represent urothelial (transitional cell) differentiation.
The process of creating protein oligomers, compounds composed of a small number, usually between three and ten, of component monomers; protein oligomers may be composed of different or identical monomers. Oligomers may be formed by the polymerization of a number of monomers or the depolymerization of a large protein polymer.
A reference proteome is a set of protein sequences derived from a complete proteome which constitutes a defined standard for a particular user community. Reference proteomes are manually defined according to a number of criteria. They cover the proteomes of well- studied model organisms and other proteomes of interest for biomedical and biotechnological research. Reference proteomes have been selected to provide broad coverage of the tree of life, and constitute a representative cross-section of the taxonomic diversity to be found within UniProtKB.