The role of tesmin in the physiology and pathogenesis of human diseases

Abstract

Tesmin (Testis-specific metallothionein-like protein) was first observed during meiotic division of spermatocytes in mouse testis. Expression of tesmin was also found in somatic cells of various organs. In addition to the suggested function of regulating the meiotic division of germ cells, the cysteine-rich domains in tesmin structure allow to bind heavy metal ions. In addition, this protein acts as a co-activator of the nuclear mineralocorticoid receptor, which may affect the expression of many other genes. Tesmin could also potentially play a role in disease states such as: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoporosis, AIDS encephalopathy, as well as neoplasms: acute lymphoblastic leukemia, prostate cancer or non-small cell lung cancer. The above reports on the multifaceted role of tesmin in various disease processes suggest that it could be an interesting direction for further research, what this paper aims to present.