Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Antibody (PSMA)

GCPII is a zinc metalloenzyme that resides in membranes. Most of the enzyme resides in the extracellular space. GCPII is a class II membrane glycoprotein. It catalyzes the hydrolysis of N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) to glutamate and N-acetylaspartate (NAA). Neuroscientists primarily use the term NAALADase in their studies, while those studying folate metabolism use folate hydrolase, and those studying prostate cancer or oncology, PSMA. All of which refer to the same protein, glutamate carboxypeptidase II. PSMA is strongly expressed in the human prostate, being a hundredfold greater than the expression in most other tissues. In cancer, it is upregulated in expression and has been called the second-most-upregulated gene in prostate cancer, with increase of 8- to 12-fold over the noncancerous prostate. In human prostate cancer, the higher expressing tumors are associated with quicker time to progression and a greater percentage of patients suffering relapse. [Wiki]