TSPO (protein)

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translocator protein (18kDa)
Identifiers
Symbol	TSPO
Alt. Symbols	BZRP
Entrez	706
HUGO	1158
OMIM	109610
RefSeq	NM_007311
UniProt	P30536
Other data
Locus	Chr. 22 q13.3

TSPO (Translocator Protein), also known as the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR), is a 18 kDa mitochondrial membrane protein.^[1]

1 Functions
2 Imaging
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Functions

The TSPO has many proposed functions ^[2], the most studied of these are:

Cholesterol transport: The TSPO binds with high affinity to cholesterol and transports it across the mitochondrial membrane where it is used in steroid synthesis.
Immunomodulation: The expression of TSPO has been linked to inflammatory responses that occur after ischemia-reperfusion injury, following brain injury, and in some neurodegenerative diseases.
Apoptosis: Ligands of the TSPO have beens shown to induce apoptosis in human colorectal cancer cells

[edit] Imaging

Ligands of the TSPO are very useful for imaging of inflammation, for example, the ligand [3H]-PK11195 has been used in receptor autoradiography to study neuroinflammation following brain injury.

[edit] References

^ Papadopoulos V, Baraldi M, Guilarte TR, Knudsen TB, Lacapere JJ, Lindemann P, Norenberg MD, Nutt D, Weizman A, Zhang MR, Gavish M (2006). "Translocator protein (18kDa): new nomenclature for the peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor based on its structure and molecular function". Trends Pharmacol Sci 27 (8): 402–9. doi:10.1016/j.tips.2006.06.005. PMID 16822554.
^ Casellas P, Galiegue S, Basile AS (2002). "Peripheral benzodiazepine receptors and mitochondrial function". Neurochem Int 40 (6): 475–86. doi:10.1016/S0197-0186(01)00118-8. PMID 11850104.