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SIGLEC6 (sialic acid binding Ig-like lectin 6)

Certainty Style Key
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True   Likely   Speculative
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Human Uniqueness Compared to "Great Apes": 
Absolute Difference
MOCA Domain: 
Genetics
MOCA Topic Authors: 
Ajit Varki

Siglec-6 is a sialic acid recognizing protein expressed in certain immune cell types of all hominids. Surprisingly it is selectively expressed in the human and not chimpanzee or gorilla placenta. Mechanistically this may be related to changes in the promoter region, and the significance of the selective expression is unknown. As it shows increasing expression human labor and following childbirth, it has been speculated that this expression helps to slow the tempo of human labor.  Interestingly, expression of Siglec-6 is further upregulated in pre-eclampsia, which appears to be a uniquely human disease.

Type of Human-Specific Changes in SIGLEC6
Tissue Expression Pattern Change

 

Related MOCA Topics
Related Topics:
TitleCertainty
Absence of PlacentophagiaSpeculative
Duration of LaborSpeculative
Pre-EclampsiaLikely
Referenced By:
TitleCertainty
Duration of LaborNone
Siglec Expression in Extra-Embryonic Fetal TissueNone
Timing

Timing of Appearance of the Difference in the Hominin Lineage.

For this entry assume that

  • the common ancestor of humans and old world monkeys was 25000 thousand (25 million) years ago
  • the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees was 6000 thousand (6 million) years ago
  • the emergence of the genus Homo was 2000 thousand (2 million) years ago
  • the common ancestor of modern humans was 100 thousand years ago

 

Definite Appearance: 
100 Thousand Years