INHBE (human, recombinant)

Inhibin beta E chain (INHBE) is a member of the TGF-beta superfamily. INHBE encodes a 350-amino acid pre-protein, which is proteolytically cleaved at Thr237 to release the mature INHBE peptide, and is a secreted protein mainly expressed in the liver. It exists as a homodimer, also known as activin E, or forms heterodimers with other inhibin beta chains such as INHBC. INHBE is a hepatokine that is involved in hepatocyte viability, thermogenesis, and insulin sensitivity and binds to follistatin (Cay-31839). Overexpression of INHBE induces apoptosis in hepatocytes and INHBE-containing conditioned medium induces expression of genes involved in adipocyte differentiation, which can be blocked by the activin receptor-like kinase (ALK) inhibitor SB-431542 (Cay-13031). Hepatic expression of human INHBE decreases plasma glucose levels and increases body temperature in mice. Loss-of-function mutations in INHBE are associated with favorable body fat distribution and a decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Increased tumor levels of INHBE positively correlate with increasing tumor grade and negatively correlate with poor overall survival in patients with clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).