DHH, C23II, human

DHH, C23II, human: Desert hedgehog protein (DHH), also named HHG-3, is belonging to the hedgehog (Hh) family that are highly conserved proteins which are widely represented throughout the animal kingdom. This protein is predicted to be made as a precursor that is autocatalytically cleaved and the biologically active form of Hh molecules corresponds to approximately the N-terminal one half of the precursor molecule. The N-terminal portion is soluble and contains the signaling activity while the C-terminal portion is involved in processing. More importantly, the C-terminal product covalently attaches a cholesterol moiety to the N-terminal product, restricting the N-terminal product to the cell surface and preventing it from freely diffusing throughout the organism. DHH is essential for a variety of patterning events during development as intercellular signal. It may function as a spermatocyte survival factor in the testes and play an important role in testes development. Mature human DHH shares 97 % amino acid sequence identity with murine DHH. UnitProt ID: O43323