Abstract
Stanniocalcin, a glycosylated peptide hormone, first discovered in a bony fish has originally been shown to play critical role in calcium and phosphate homeostasis. Two paralogs of stanniocalcin (STC1 and STC2) identified in mammals are widely expressed in variety of tissues. This review provides historical perspective on the discovery of fish and mammalian stanniocalcin, describes molecular regulation of STC2 gene, catalogs distribution as well as expression of STC2 in tissues, and provides key structural information known till date regarding mammalian STC2. Additionally, this mini review summarizes pivotal functions of STC2 in calcium and phosphate regulation, cytoprotection, cell development, and angiogenesis. Finally, STC2's role as a novel marker for human cancers has also been outlined. Reviewing these studies will provide an opportunity to understand STC2's structure, biological functions as well as key molecular pathways involving STC2, which will help us design innovative therapeutic interventions using this novel hormone.
Highlights
The stanniocalcin—historically known as hypocalcin, teleocalcin, or parathyrin—is a widely-expressed hormone that is speculated to function in an autocrine and/or paracrine manner [1, 2]
Various studies have indicated the possible involvement of two mammalian stanniocalcins, namely stanniocalcin 1 and 2 (STC1 and 2), in diverse biological processes including calcium regulation, cell proliferation and apoptosis, inflammation, Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)/oxidative stress, metabolism, and cancer [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
Phylogenetic examination revealed that both STC1 and stanniocalcin 2 (STC2) are evolved from a common ancestral gene and there is a possibility of identification of additional stanniocalcin-like agonists across eukaryotes
Summary
The stanniocalcin—historically known as hypocalcin, teleocalcin, or parathyrin—is a widely-expressed hormone that is speculated to function in an autocrine and/or paracrine manner [1, 2]. Precise physiological functions and signaling pathways in which stanniocalcins are involved remain to be elucidated. Majority of previous studies and reports were centered on understanding role of STC1 in plethora of cellular and molecular functions [11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. This mini review is entirely focused on depicting our current understanding of physiological and pathological role of STC2 within human health and disease context
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