protocadherin alpha 2

Symbol

PCDHA2 (may also be known as: None)

Organism

Human

Description

This gene is a member of the protocadherin alpha gene cluster, one of three related gene clusters tandemly linked on chromosome five that demonstrate an unusual genomic organization similar to that of B-cell and T-cell receptor gene clusters. The alpha gene cluster is composed of 15 cadherin superfamily genes related to the mouse CNR genes and consists of 13 highly similar and 2 more distantly related coding sequences. The tandem array of 15 N-terminal exons, or variable exons, are followed by downstream C-terminal exons, or constant exons, which are shared by all genes in the cluster. The large, uninterrupted N-terminal exons each encode six cadherin ectodomains while the C-terminal exons encode the cytoplasmic domain. These neural cadherin-like cell adhesion proteins are integral plasma membrane proteins that most likely play a critical role in the establishment and function of specific cell-cell connections in the brain. Alternative splicing has been observed and additional variants have been suggested but their full-length nature has yet to be determined. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]

Links to external resources

Changes associated with this gene

GO Terms

GO IDGO TermGO Category
GO:0007155 cell adhesion biological_process
GO:0007156 homophilic cell adhesion biological_process
GO:0007399 nervous system development biological_process
GO:0005886 plasma membrane cellular_component
GO:0005887 integral to plasma membrane cellular_component
GO:0005509 calcium ion binding molecular_function