S100A7A gene

S100A7A refers to the S100 Calcium Binding Protein A7A gene. This is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 1q21.3. The protein of the same name encoded by this gene may be involved in epidermal differentiation and inflammation and may therefore be important in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and other diseases.

By RT-PCR of psoriatic skin, Wolf et al. (2003) cloned 2 splice variants of S100A7A, which they named S100A15. Both splice variants encode identical 101-amino acid proteins with a calculated molecular mass of 11.3 kD. S100A15 has an N-terminal S100-type EF-hand motif and a C-terminal canonical EF-hand motif, a bipartite core target sequence, and an N-myristoylation site. S100A15 is 93% identical to S100A7.

In situ hybridization detected granular S100A15 expression in the basal epidermal layer in normal human skin, although expression in both the basal and suprabasal layers was much higher in psoriatic skin.

1. Al-Sudany NK et al. (2019) Downregulation of S100a7a antimicrobial peptide in acne vulgaris patients after isotretinoin therapy. Dermatol Ther 32:e13136.
2. Marenholz I et al. (2001) Identification of human epidermal differentiation complex (EDC)-encoded genes by subtractive hybridization of entire YACs to a gridded keratinocyte cDNA library. Genome Res 11: 341-355.
3. Wolf R et al. (2003) Molecular cloning and characterization of alternatively spliced mRNA isoforms from psoriatic skin encoding a novel member of the S100 family. FASEB J 17: 1969-1979.
4. Wolf R et al. (2011) Novel S100A7 (psoriasin)/S100A15 (koebnerisin) subfamily: highly homologous but distinct in regulation and function. Amino Acids 41: 789-796.
5. Nasser MW et al (2015) RAGE mediates S100A7-induced breast cancer growth and metastasis by modulating the tumor microenvironment. Cancer Res 75: 974-985.