Semaphorin-4G is a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

in humans encoded by the ''SEMA4G''

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

. Semaphorins are a large family of conserved, secreted and membrane associated proteins which possess a semaphoring (Sema) domain and a PSI domain (found in plexins, semaphorins and integrins) in the N-terminal extracellular portion. Semaphorins maintain cell motility and attachment in axon guidance, immune cell maintenance, vascular growth and tumour movement. Based on sequence and structural similarities, semaphorins are put into eight classes:

invertebrates Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordate subphylum ...

contain classes 1 and 2,

viruses A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are found in almo ...

have class V, and

vertebrates Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

contain classes 3-7. Semaphorins serve as axon guidance ligands via multimeric receptor complexes, some (if not all) containing plexin proteins. This gene encodes a class 4 semaphorin. This gene and the gene for mitochondrial ribosomal protein L43 overlap at map location 10q24.31 and are transcribed in opposite directions.

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