Background
Mouse Sonic Hedgehog Homolog (SHH) belongs to a three-protein family called Hedgehog. The other two family members are Indian Hedgehog (IHH) and Desert Hedgehog (DHH). Hedgehog proteins are key signaling molecules in embryonic development. SHH is expressed in various embryonic tissues and plays critical roles in regulating the patterning of many systems, such as limbs and brain. SHH also plays an important role in adult, including the division of adult stem cells and the development of certain cancers and other diseases.Mouse Shh is synthesized as a 437 aa precursor that contains a 24 aa signal sequence and a 413 aa mature region. The mature region is autocatalytically processed into a nonglycosylated, 20 kDa, 174 aa N-terminal fragment (Shh-N), and a catalytic-processing,glycosylated, 34 kDa, 239 aa C-terminal fragment. The 20 kDa Shh-N fragment is the core of the active hedgehog molecule. Mouse Shh-N is 99%, 98%, and 100% aa identical to human, rat and gerbil Shh-N, respectively.
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