Background of the antigen
The repulsive guidance molecule (RGM) family of proteins are important in the guidance of growth cones of developing neurons. They are repulsive for a group of axons, those from the temporal half of the retina. RGM have been implicated in both axonal guidance and neural tube closure but as opposed to for ephrins, semaphorins, netrins and slits, no receptor mechanism for RGM activation has been defined. Dorsal root ganglion axons do not respond to RGM but neogenin (a netrin-binding protein which can function as an RGM receptor) expression can spur RGM responsiveness. The RGM proteins are attached to the membrane by a GPI-anchor. Two members of this family, RGMa and RGMb, are expressed in the nervous system. RGMc, also known as Hemojuvelin, is a part of the signaling pathway activating hepcidin and works together with hepcidin to restrict iron absorption in the gut. Defects in the gene encoding for RGMc causes the autosomal recessive disorder juvenile hemochromatosis (JH).
