Powis G, Montfort W R
Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724-5024, USA.
Annu Rev Biophys Biomol Struct. 2001;30:421-55. doi: 10.1146/annurev.biophys.30.1.421.
The mammalian thioredoxins are a family of small (approximately 12 kDa) redox proteins that undergo NADPH-dependent reduction by thioredoxin reductase and in turn reduce oxidized cysteine groups on proteins. The two main thioredoxins are thioredoxin- 1, a cytosolic and nuclear form, and thioredoxin-2, a mitochondrial form. Thioredoxin-1 has been studied more. It performs many biological actions including the supply of reducing equivalents to thioredoxin peroxidases and ribonucleotide reductase, the regulation of transcription factor activity, and the regulation of enzyme activity by heterodimer formation. Thioredoxin-1 stimulates cell growth and is an inhibitor of apoptosis. Thioredoxins may play a role in a variety of human diseases including cancer. An increased level of thioredoxin-1 is found in many human tumors, where it is associated with aggressive tumor growth. Drugs are being developed that inhibit thioredoxin and that have antitumor activity.
哺乳动物硫氧还蛋白是一类小的（约12 kDa）氧化还原蛋白家族，它们通过硫氧还蛋白还原酶进行依赖于NADPH的还原，进而还原蛋白质上氧化的半胱氨酸基团。两种主要的硫氧还蛋白是硫氧还蛋白-1（一种胞质和核形式）和硫氧还蛋白-2（一种线粒体形式）。对硫氧还蛋白-1的研究更多。它执行许多生物学功能，包括为硫氧还蛋白过氧化物酶和核糖核苷酸还原酶提供还原当量、调节转录因子活性以及通过形成异二聚体调节酶活性。硫氧还蛋白-1刺激细胞生长，是细胞凋亡的抑制剂。硫氧还蛋白可能在包括癌症在内的多种人类疾病中起作用。在许多人类肿瘤中发现硫氧还蛋白-1水平升高，它与肿瘤的侵袭性生长相关。目前正在研发抑制硫氧还蛋白且具有抗肿瘤活性的药物。
