Copine II (CPNE2)

Molecular events at the interface of the cell membrane and cytoplasm may be regulated by proteins that attach to and detach from the membrane surface in response to signals. Calcium-dependent membrane-binding proteins may play such a role. The 55-kD copine protein bound phosphatidylserine in a calcium- but not magnesium-dependent manner, but it did not bind phosphatidylcholine. Copine promoted calcium-dependent aggregation of lipid vesicles. The authors cloned partial cDNAs representing 2 distinct Paramecium copine genes.

By searching sequence databases for genes with sequence similarity to the Paramecium copine genes, Creutz et al. (1998) identified human ESTs corresponding to 5 copine genes, including copine II .