CST, 34052S, Human Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) Recombinant Protein

Storage
Human Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) Recombinant Protein is supplied as lyophilized material that is very stable at -20°C. It is recommended to reconstitute with sterile water at a concentration of 0.1 mg/mL which can be further diluted in aqueous solutions as needed. Addition of a carrier protein (0.1% HSA or BSA) is recommended for long-term storage. Once in solution, store at 4°C and use within 1 month, or store at -20ºC to -80ºC and use within 3 months to prevent loss of potency. Aliquot to avoid multiple freeze/thaw cycles if storing reconstituted material at -20ºC to -80ºC.
Source / Purification
Recombinant human Shh was expressed in and is supplied in a lyophilized form.
Background
Hedgehog proteins (Hh) are secreted signaling proteins that play many roles during animal development. Aberrant Hh signaling activity can be associated with numerous birth defects and uncontrolled Hh pathway activation is linked to the development of several types of cancers (1-2). The three identified vertebrate Hh genes are Sonic ( ), Indian ( ) and Desert ( ), all of which have distinct as well as overlapping roles (3-5). Hh proteins are synthesized as 45 kDa precursors that undergo auto-cleavage to generate a 19 kDa amino-terminal peptide (Hh-N) and a carboxy-terminal peptide (Hh-C). The Hh-N becomes covalently attached to a cholesterol molecule at its carboxy terminus and acetylated at its amino terminus. This doubly modified Hh-N peptide is released from cells and responsible for all known Hedgehog signaling activity (6).