A portion of amino acids 3-116 was used as the immunogen for the Calcitonin antibody.
Calcitonin is a hormone that preserves skeletal integrity and reduces blood calcium levels by decreasing osteoclast activity in bones, calcium and phosphate reabsorption by kidney tubules and calcium absorption by the intestines. The secretion of Calcitonin from the thyroid is regulated in part by estrogen, which increases Calcitonin mRNA levels. The Calcitonin gene, CALCA, undergoes tissue-specific RNA alternative splicing, resulting in the production of different mRNA transcripts. One transcript encodes procalcitonin as well as both calcium-lowering processed active polypeptides, Calcitonin and katacalcin. An alternative transcript of CALCA encodes the precursor for the neuropeptide referred to as Calcitonin generelated peptide 1, also designated CGRP1 or -CGRP. Mature CGRP1 and CGRP2 share significant sequence identity at the protein level differing by only 1-3 amino acid residues, depending on the species.
