Background information
Nudel is important for normal cortical development. It is invovled in microtubule organization, nuclear translocation, and neuronal positioning in concert with various other factors (including Lis1, Pafah1b1, Pahfah1b2, dynein, dynorphin A and cdk5). Western blot analysis of mouse tissues shows abundant expression of Nudel in brain and testis, and much lower expression in heart, liver, kidney, and skeletal muscle. In fractionated rat brain, Nudel and Lis1 are both found in fractions enriched for postsynaptic density proteins. Immunostaining of embryonic day 18 mouse brain sections revealed staining of migrating neurons and thalamocortical axons of the intermediate zone of the developing cerebral cortex, as well as several other developing brain regions. The deduced protein contains 345 amino acids and has a calculated molecular mass of 38.4 kDa. It has a coiled coil motif (residues 19 to 201), followed by several potential phosphorylation sites for casein kinase II, protein kinase C or CDK5. Nudel shares about 50% identity with mouse and human NUDE proteins.
