Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) is a member of the Hedgehog (Hh) family of highly conserved proteins which are widely represented throughout the animal kingdom. In mammal, there are threerelatedHh proteins, Sonic (Shh), Desert (Dhh) and Indian (Ihh). They share a high degree of amino-acid sequence identity (e.g., Shh and Ihh are 93% identical). Sonic Hedgehog plays a role in cell growth, cell specialization, and the normal shaping (patterning) of the body. Shh is also important for development of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system), eyes, limbs, and many other parts of the body.
Recombinant mouseSonic Hedgehog(rmShh) produced in E.coli is a single non-glycosylated polypeptide chain containing 176 amino acids. A fully biologically active molecule, rmShh,is obtained by proprietary chromatographic techniques at GenScript with a molecular mass of 19.8kDa analyzed by reducing SDS-PAGE.