Contactin-2/TAG-1, active on the front line for three decades |
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| Authors: | Tomoyuki Masuda |
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| Institution: | 1. Doctoral and Master's Programs in Kansei, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan;2. Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan;3. Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Contactin-2/transiently expressed axonal surface glycoprotein-1 (TAG-1) is a cell adhesion molecule belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF). It has six immunoglobulin-like extracellular domains and four fibronectin III-like ones, with anchoring to the cell membrane through glycosylphosphatidyl inositol. Contactin-2/TAG-1 is expressed in specific neurons transiently on the axonal surface during the fetal period. In postnatal stages, Contactin-2/TAG-1 is expressed in cerebellar granule cells, hippocampal pyramidal cells, and the juxtaparanodal regions of myelinated nerve fibers. In the embryonic nervous system, Contactin-2/TAG-1 plays important roles in axonal elongation, axonal guidance, and cellular migration. In the postnatal nervous system, it also plays an essential role in the formation of myelinated nerve fibers. Moreover, Contactin-2/TAG-1 has been linked to autoimmune diseases of the human nervous system. Taken together, Contactin-2/TAG-1 plays a central role in a variety of functions from development to disease. |
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| Keywords: | axonin-1/SC2 cerebral cortex commissural neuron dorsal root ganglion floor plate juxtaparanode L1 NrCAM TAX-1 |
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