Background of the antigen
Neugrin, also known as NGRN, mesenchymal stem cell protein DSC92, neurite outgrowth-associated protein or spinal cord-derived protein FI58G, is a 291 amino acid protein that plays a role in neuronal differentiation and belongs to the neugrin family. As both a secreted and nuclear protein, neugrin exists as two alternatively spliced isoforms and is highly expressed in skeletal muscle, brain and heart. Neugrin is upregulated in neuroblastostoma cells by retinoic acid treatment and is encoded by a gene that maps to human chromosome 15q26.1. Chromosome 15 houses over 700 genes and comprises nearly 3% of the human genome. Angelman syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Tay-Sachs disease and Marfan syndrome are all associated with defects in chromosome 15-localized genes.
