Neuronal pentraxin-2 is a
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''NPTX2''
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
.
Function
This gene encodes a member of the family of neuronal
pentraxins
Pentraxins (PTX), also known as pentaxins, are an evolutionary conserved family of proteins characterised by containing a pentraxin protein domain. Proteins of the pentraxin family are involved in acute immunological responses. They are a clas ...
, synaptic proteins that are related to
C-reactive protein
C-reactive protein (CRP) is an annular (ring-shaped) pentameric protein found in blood plasma, whose circulating concentrations rise in response to inflammation. It is an acute-phase protein of hepatic origin that increases following interleukin-6 ...
. This protein is involved in excitatory synapse formation. It also plays a role in clustering of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (
AMPA
α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid, better known as AMPA, is a compound that is a specific agonist for the AMPA receptor, where it mimics the effects of the neurotransmitter glutamate.
There are several types of glutamatergic ...
)-type glutamate receptors at established synapses, resulting in non-apoptotic cell death of dopaminergic nerve cells.
Clinical significance
Up-regulation of this gene in
Parkinson disease Parkinson may refer to:
*Parkinson (surname)
* ''Parkinson'' (TV series), British chat show, presented by Sir Michael Parkinson
*Parkinson, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane, Australia
*The Parkinsons (fl. early 20th century), American father-and-son ...
(PD) tissues suggests that the protein may be involved in the pathology of PD
References
Further reading
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