Astrotactin (Astn1) is a
glycoprotein
Glycoproteins are proteins which contain oligosaccharide chains covalently attached to amino acid side-chains. The carbohydrate is attached to the protein in a cotranslational or posttranslational modification. This process is known as g ...
expressed on migrating neurons that favors adhesion to
glia
Glia, also called glial cells (gliocytes) or neuroglia, are non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system that do not produce electrical impulses. They maintain homeostasis, form mye ...
and migration. It is involved in regulation of adhesion during the radial migration of
neurons
A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. ...
in the developing
CNS. Its expression is limited to cells in the cortex and cerebellum.
* Alberts, B.(1994) Molecular Biology of the Cell
* Price et al., (2011) Building Brains
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Glycoproteins