Specificity
Kallikreins (KLKs) belong to the serine protease family of proteolytic enzymes. Human pancreatic/renal KLK encodes for the KLK1 enzyme, which is involved in post-translational processing of polypeptide precursors. The function of the other members of KLK gene family is currently unknown, but evidence suggests that many KLKs are implicated in carcinogenesis. The human KLK gene family consists of 15 serine proteases. The human KLK genes are clustered on chromosome 19q13.41. Unlike other kalllikreins, the KLK4-15 encoded proteases are less related and do not contain a conventional KLK loop. Clusters of genes exhibit high prostatic (KLK2-4, KLK15) or pancreatic (KLK6-13) expression. KLK2 is also known as glandular kallikrein 2, tissue kallikrein or HGK-1, and KLK3 is known as prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Both KLK2 and KLK3 have important applications in prostate cancer and breast cancer diagnostics. KLK4, KLK5, KLK9, KLK13, KLK12 and KLK14 have been previously known as KLK-L1, KLK-L2, KLK-L3, KLK-L4, KLK-L5 and KLK-L6, respectively. Many of the KLKs are regulated by steroid hormones and a few of them, specifically KLK3, KLK6 and KLK10, are known to be downregulated in breast and other cancers.
