N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphodiester alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase is an

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...

that in humans is encoded by the ''NAGPA''

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 ...

. Hydrolases are transported to lysosomes after binding to

mannose 6-phosphate receptor The mannose 6-phosphate receptors (MPRs) are transmembrane glycoproteins that target enzymes to lysosomes in vertebrates. Mannose 6-phosphate receptors bind newly synthesized lysosomal hydrolases in the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and deliver th ...

s in the trans-Golgi network. This gene encodes the enzyme that catalyzes the second step in the formation of the mannose 6-phosphate recognition marker on lysosomal hydrolases. Commonly known as 'uncovering enzyme' or UCE, this enzyme removes N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) residues from GlcNAc-alpha-P-mannose moieties and thereby produces the recognition marker. This reaction most likely occurs in the trans-Golgi network. This enzyme functions as a

homotetramer A tetrameric protein is a protein with a protein quaternary structure, quaternary structure of four subunits (tetrameric). Homotetramers have four identical Protein subunit, subunits (such as glutathione S-transferase), and heterotetramers are M ...

of two disulfide-linked homodimers. In addition to having an

N-terminal The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the ami ...

signal peptide A signal peptide (sometimes referred to as signal sequence, targeting signal, localization signal, localization sequence, transit peptide, leader sequence or leader peptide) is a short peptide (usually 16-30 amino acids long) present at the N-ter ...

, the protein's C-terminus contains multiple signals for trafficking it between lysosomes, the plasma membrane, and trans-Golgi network. To date, the only disorder in humans associated with this gene is Persistent Neurodevelopmental Stuttering (PNdS).

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