Corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) also known as transcortin or serpin A6 is a protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 that in humans is encoded by the SERPINA6 gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

.

Function

This gene encodes an alpha-globulin protein with corticosteroid-binding properties. This is the major transport protein for glucocorticoid

Glucocorticoid

Glucocorticoids are a class of steroid hormones that bind to the glucocorticoid receptor , which is present in almost every vertebrate animal cell...

s and progestin

Progestin

A progestin is a synthetic progestogen that has progestinic effects similar to progesterone. The two most common uses of progestins are for hormonal contraception , and to prevent endometrial hyperplasia from unopposed estrogen in hormone replacement therapy...

s in the blood of most vertebrates. The gene localizes to a chromosomal region containing several closely related serine protease inhibitors (serpin

Serpin

Serpins are a group of proteins with similar structures that were first identified as a set of proteins able to inhibit proteases. The acronym serpin was originally coined because many serpins inhibit chymotrypsin-like serine proteases .The first members of the serpin superfamily to be extensively...

s) which may have evolved by duplication events.

External links

• The MEROPS
  Merops
  Merops may refer to:* Merops , a genus of bee-eaters.* MEROPS, an on-line database for peptidases.It may also refer to several figures from Greek mythology:* King of Ethiopia, husband of Clymene, who lay with Helios and bore Phaethon...
  
  online database for peptidases and their inhibitors: I04.954