Pirin

Pirin is an oxidative stress (OS) sensor belonging to the functionally diverse cupin superfamily of proteins. Pirin is a 32 kDa protein with 290 amino acids showing a dot-like nuclear localization, which is highly conserved among mammals, plants, fungi, and prokaryotes. In Homo sapiens, Pirin transcripts are highly expressed in both muscle and cardiac tissues. Pirin is a suggested quercetinase and transcriptional activator of the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) pathway. Pirin performs a redox-sensing role in NF-κB regulation.
Pirin biological role in cancer development remains a novel area of study. Pirin is a protein which is detected at low levels in normal tissues. However, it is detected at high levels in multiple cancers, particularly in melanomas, cervical cancer or squamous cell lung carcinomas. Essentially, its role in cancer is related to the host response against factors causing oxidative stress, favoring cell migration and metastasis^[1][2].