SERPINF1
Description
The SERPINF1 (serpin family F member 1) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 17.
Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), also known as serpin F1 (SERPINF1), is a multifunctional secreted protein that has anti-angiogenic, anti-tumorigenic, and neurotrophic functions. Found in vertebrates, this 50 kDa protein is being researched as a therapeutic candidate for treatment of conditions such as choroidal neovascularization, heart disease, and cancer. In humans, pigment epithelium-derived factor is encoded by the SERPINF1 gene.
PEDF was originally discovered by Joyce Tombran-Tink and Lincoln Johnson in the late 1980s while studying human retinal cell development by identifying secreted factors produced by the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE), a layer of cells that supports the retina. They noticed RPE produced a factor that promoted the differentiation of primitive retinal cells into cells of a neuronal phenotype. They isolated proteins unique to RPE cells and tested the individual proteins for neurotrophic function. A neurotrophic protein around 50 kilodaltons (kDa) was identified and temporarily named RPE-54 before being officially termed pigment epithelium-derived factor. Soon thereafter, the same laboratory sequenced the PEDF protein and compared it to a human fetal eye library. They found that PEDF was a previously uncharacterized protein and a member of the serpin (serine protease inhibitor) family.
SERPINF1 is also known as EPC-1, OI12, OI6, PEDF, PIG35.
