Biological Importance of Annexins

Annexins (ANX) are a family of calcium-dependent membrane-binding proteins. They are distributed widely in eukaryotes, but yeasts and prokaryotes do not contain these proteins. ANX are cytosolic proteins, which have pools of a soluble form and a form stably or reversibly linked to the parts of the proteins or cytoskeleton that facilitate interactions among the extracellular matrix and the cell. They interact with a number of cell-membrane elements, involved in growth regulation, organizatio...