Syntaxin 6 (STX6)

By RT-PCR with primers based on the sequence of rat syntaxin-6, Martin-Martin et al. (1999) isolated a human syntaxin-6 cDNA. Exocytosis of various types of cytoplasmic granules present in human neutrophils plays a critical role in neutrophil biology and appears to regulate a number of neutrophil functions in both inflammation and infection. To elucidate the mechanisms that regulate neutrophil exocytosis, Martin-Martin et al. (1999) studied the expression of syntaxins, cellular receptors for transport vesicles, in neutrophils. By RT-PCR, they found that neutrophils and peripheral blood lymphocytes express numerous syntaxins, including syntaxin-1A, -3, and -6. The expression of several syntaxin genes increased during dimethyl sulfoxide-induced differentiation of a human promyelocytic leukemia cell line toward the neutrophil lineage.