Decorin is a proteoglycan on average 90 - 140 kilodaltons(kD) in size.It belongs to the small leucine-rich proteoglycan(SLRP) family and consists of a protein core containing leucine repeats with a glycosaminoglycan(GAG) chain consisting of either chondroitin sulfate(CS) or dermatan sulfate(DS).Using a genomic clone as the labeled probe and in situ hybridization of human metaphase chromosomes, decorin gene was mapped to the discrete region of human chromosome 12q23. Decorin is capable of suppressing the growth of various tumor cell lines when expressed ectopically.
