PCDHA9 Antibody

Background:

This gene is a member of the protocadherin alpha genecluster, one of three related gene clusters tandemly linked onchromosome five that demonstrate an unusual genomic organizationsimilar to that of B-cell and T-cell receptor gene clusters. Thealpha gene cluster is composed of 15 cadherin superfamily genesrelated to the mouse CNR genes and consists of 13 highly similarand 2 more distantly related coding sequences. The tandem array of15 N-terminal exons, or variable exons, are followed by downstreamC-terminal exons, or constant exons, which are shared by all genesin the cluster. The large, uninterrupted N-terminal exons eachencode six cadherin ectodomains while the C-terminal exons encodethe cytoplasmic domain. These neural cadherin-like cell adhesionproteins are integral plasma membrane proteins that most likelyplay a critical role in the establishment and function of specificcell-cell connections in the brain. Alternative splicing has beenobserved and additional variants have been suggested but theirfull-length nature has yet to be determined.