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. 2018 May 16;11:83–94. doi: 10.2147/PGPM.S136026

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© 2018 Filella et al. This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited

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Molecular forms of PSA.

Notes: In serum, PSA (80%–95%) circulates mainly as a complexed form (cPSA) bound to several protease inhibitors (e.g., α1 anti-chymotrypsin and β2 macroglobulin). Free PSA is a small fraction of total PSA, which is also composed by three different subfractions: BPSA, iPSA, and proPSA. The native form of proPSA is [−7] proPSA, which contains a 7-amino acid N-terminal pro-leader peptide. Through the proteolytic cleavage of this peptide, promoted by the kallikrein hK2, the other truncated forms of proPSA, known as [−2], [−4], and [−5] proPSA, are produced.

Abbreviations: ACT, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin; BPSA, benign PSA; cPSA, complexed PSA; hK2, human kallikrein 2; iPSA, intact PSA; PSA, prostate-specific antigen.