Cathepsin D Antibody

Cathepsin D is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CTSD gene. This proteinase is a member of the peptidase C1 family, having a specificity similar to but narrower than that of pepsin A. It is mapped to 11p15.5. The cDNA encodes a 412-amino acid protein with 20 and 44 amino acids in a pre- and prosegment, respectively. Cathepsin D is one of the lysosomal proteinases. It is ubiquitously expressed and is involved in proteolytic degradation, cell invasion, and apoptosis. Mutations in this gene are involved in the pathogenesis of several diseases, including breast cancer and possibly Alzheimer disease and it has been considered as a breast cancer tumor marker.