Overview:

HTRA1 is a serine protease. HTRA1 targets a variety of proteins (1 & 2), including fibronectin (induce synovial cells to up-regulate MMP1 and MMP3 production), proteoglycans (release soluble FGF-glycosaminoglycan complexes that promote the range and intensity of FGF signals in the extracellular space), IGF-binding proteins (regulates the availability of insulin-like growth factors) and TSC2 (leads to the activation of TSC2 downstream targets). HTRA1 relates to age-related macular degeneration, a multifactorial eye disease and the most common cause of irreversible vision loss (3).

Gene Aliases:

ARMD7; CARASIL; HtrA; L56; ORF480; PRSS11

Genbank Number:

NM_002775

References:

1. Hu S.I. et.al: Human HtrA, an evolutionarily conserved serine protease identified as a differentially expressed gene product in osteoarthritic cartilage. J. Biol. Chem. 273:34406-34412 (1998).

2. Grau S. et.al: The role of human HtrA1 in arthritic disease. J. Biol. Chem. 281:6124-6129 (2006).

3. Yang, Z. et.al: A variant of the HTRA1 gene increases susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration. Science 314: 992-993, 2006.