Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| GDNF structure | |
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glial cell derived neurotrophic factor
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| Identifiers | |
| Symbol | GDNF |
| HUGO | 4232 |
| Entrez | 2668 |
| OMIM | 600837 |
| RefSeq | NM_000514 |
| UniProt | P39905 |
| Other data | |
| Locus | Chr. 5 p13.1-p12 |
Glial cell line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) is a small protein that potently promotes the survival of many types of neurons.
[edit] Functions
The most prominent feature of GDNF is its ability to support the survival of dopaminergic and motorneurons.
These neuronal populations die in the course of Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) respectively. GDNF also regulates kidney development and spermatogenesis.
[edit] GDNF family of ligands (GFL)
GDNF is a founding member of the GDNF family of ligands (GFL).
