TXN — Thioredoxin

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TXN — Thioredoxin

Introduction

<table class="infobox infobox-gene">
<tr>
<th class="infobox-header" colspan="2">TXN — Thioredoxin</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">Symbol</td>
<td><strong>TXN</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">Full Name</td>
<td>TXN — Thioredoxin</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">Type</td>
<td>Gene</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">NCBI</td>
<td><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/?term=TXN" target="_blank">Search NCBI</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">Associated Diseases</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/aging" style="color:#ef9a9a">Aging</a>, <a href="/wiki/als" style="color:#ef9a9a">Als</a>, <a href="/wiki/alzheimer" style="color:#ef9a9a">Alzheimer</a>, <a href="/wiki/inflammation" style="color:#ef9a9a">Inflammation</a>, <a href="/wiki/ms" style="color:#ef9a9a">Ms</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">KG Connections</td>
<td><a href="/atlas" style="color:#4fc3f7">48 edges</a></td>
</tr>
</table>

Txn — Thioredoxin is an important component in the neurobiology of neurodegenerative diseases. This page provides detailed information about its structure, function, and role in disease processes.

Official Symbol: TXN [@masutani2004] Official Full Name: Thioredoxin [@lovell2000] Gene Type: Protein Coding [@tobe2003] Location: Chromosome 9q31.3 [@andersen2004] NCBI Gene ID: 7295 [@jiang2021] Ensembl ID: ENSG00000136810 [@sasakura2010] UniProt ID: P10599 [@kaimul2007]

Overview

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TXN — Thioredoxin

Introduction

Txn — Thioredoxin is an important component in the neurobiology of neurodegenerative diseases. This page provides detailed information about its structure, function, and role in disease processes.

Overview

Mermaid diagram (expand to render)

Thioredoxin (TXN) is a small (12 kDa) ubiquitous antioxidant protein that plays a central role in cellular redox homeostasis. It is a key component of the thioredoxin system, which includes thioredoxin reductase (TXNRD) and NADPH. TXN maintains a reduced intracellular environment by catalyzing disulfide bond reduction in target proteins, thereby protecting cells from oxidative stress. In the nervous system, TXN is essential for neuronal survival, synaptic function, and protection against neurodegenerative processes.

Function

Catalytic Mechanism

Active Site: Cys-Gly-Pro-Cys motif mediates redox reactions
Reducing Power: Uses NADPH via TXNRD to maintain reduced state
Substrate Range: Reduces peroxiredoxins, ribonucleotide reductase, transcription factors

Antioxidant Defense

ROS Scavenging: Directly neutralizes [reactive oxygen species](/entities/reactive-oxygen-species)
Peroxiredoxin Reduction: Recycles peroxiredoxins to active form
DNA Synthesis: Maintains ribonucleotide reductase in active form

Protein Repair

Disulfide Reduction: Repairs oxidized cysteine residues in proteins
Chaperone Function: Helps maintain proper protein folding
[Apoptosis](/entities/apoptosis) Regulation: Interacts with ASK1, [NF-κB](/entities/nf-kb) signaling

Neuro-specific Functions

Synaptic Plasticity: Modifies [NMDA receptor](/entities/nmda-receptor) and AMPAR function
Neuroprotection: Protects against excitotoxicity and oxidative stress
Myelin Maintenance: Important for oligodendrocyte function

Disease Associations

Alzheimer's Disease

Redox Imbalance: TXN system impaired in AD brain
Therapeutic Target: TXN-boosting compounds in development
Interaction with [Aβ](/proteins/amyloid-beta): TXN levels correlate with amyloid pathology

Parkinson's Disease

Oxidative Stress: Central to PD pathogenesis
Neuroprotection: TXN overexpression protects dopaminergic [neurons](/entities/neurons)
DJ-1 Connection: Synergistic antioxidant system

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

SOD1 Mutations: TXN system interacts with mutant SOD1
Therapeutic Potential: TXN delivery shows promise in models

Stroke

Ischemic Injury: TXN reduced after stroke
Neuroprotection: Exogenous TXN reduces infarct size
[Blood-Brain Barrier](/entities/blood-brain-barrier): Protects BBB integrity

Cancer

Dual Role: Both tumor-promoting and tumor-suppressing functions
Therapeutic Target: TXNRD inhibitors in cancer therapy

Expression

Brain Expression

Neurons: High expression in cortical and hippocampal neurons
[Astrocytes](/entities/astrocytes): Expressed in reactive astrocytes
Oligodendrocytes: Important for myelin maintenance
[Microglia](/cell-types/microglia-neuroinflammation): Upregulated in neuroinflammation

Regulation

Transcriptional: Induced by oxidative stress via Nrf2
Post-translational: Redox-regulated activity
Cellular Localization: Cytosolic and nuclear isoforms

Therapeutic Targeting

Thioredoxin System Modulators

TXN Peptides: Cell-penetrating TXN-derived peptides
TXNRD Inhibitors: Auranofin, arsenic trioxide for cancer
Nrf2 Activators: Increase endogenous TXN expression

Clinical Applications

Neurodegeneration: TXN-based therapies in clinical trials
Cardiovascular: TXN for ischemic injury
Aging: TXN decline reversed in models

Background

The study of Txn — Thioredoxin has evolved significantly over the past decades. Research in this area has revealed important insights into the underlying mechanisms of neurodegeneration and continues to drive therapeutic development.

Historical context and key discoveries in this field have shaped our current understanding and will continue to guide future research directions.

External Links

[NCBI Gene: TXN](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/)
[UniProt: Thioredoxin](https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/)
[Ensembl: TXN](https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=)

References

[Holmgren A et al., Thioredoxin and thioredoxin reductase (2007) (2007)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17567241/))

[Masutani H et al., Thioredoxin in brain injury and neuroprotection (2004) (2004)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15536083/))

[Lovell MA et al., Thioredoxin in Alzheimer's disease (2000) (2000)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11001079/))

[Tobe K et al., Thioredoxin and Parkinson's disease (2003) (2003)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14528052/))

[Andersen JK et al., Oxidative stress and neurodegeneration (2004) (2004)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15240148/))

[Jiang B et al., Thioredoxin in stroke (2021) (2021)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33987521/))

[Sasakura C et al., Thioredoxin and ALS (2010) (2010)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20144576/))

[Kaimul AM et al., Thioredoxin in synaptic plasticity (2007) (2007)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17658856/))

Pathway Diagram

The following diagram shows the key molecular relationships involving TXN — Thioredoxin discovered through SciDEX knowledge graph analysis:

Mermaid diagram (expand to render)

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TXN — Thioredoxin

TXN — Thioredoxin

Introduction

Overview

TXN — Thioredoxin

Introduction

Overview

Function

Catalytic Mechanism

Antioxidant Defense

Protein Repair

Neuro-specific Functions

Disease Associations

Alzheimer's Disease

Parkinson's Disease

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Stroke

Cancer

Expression

Brain Expression

Regulation

Therapeutic Targeting

Thioredoxin System Modulators

Clinical Applications

Background

See Also

External Links

References

Pathway Diagram