Background information
Protocadherins are a large family of cadherin-like cell adhesion proteins that are involved in the establishment and maintenance of neuronal connections in the brain. There are three protocadherin gene clusters, designated alpha, beta and gamma, all of which contain multiple tandemly arranged genes. PCDHGC4 (protocadherin gamma subfamily C, 4) is a 938 amino acid single-pass type I membrane protein that localizes to the cell membrane and contains six cadherin domains. Expressed as two alternatively spliced isoforms, PCDHGC4 functions as a potential calcium-dependent cell adhesion protein that is thought to be involved in the establishment and maintenance of neuronal connections within the brain. The gene encoding PCDHGC4 maps to a protocadherin gamma gene cluster which is localized to chromosome 5 and contains over 22 protocadherin genes.
