Formin-2 (FMN2) is an

actin Actin is a protein family, family of Globular protein, globular multi-functional proteins that form microfilaments in the cytoskeleton, and the thin filaments in myofibril, muscle fibrils. It is found in essentially all Eukaryote, eukaryotic cel ...

binding

structural protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respondi ...

and has a localized expression pattern in the developing and adult forms of the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all p ...

(CNS). FMN2 plays an important role in the nucleation and assembly of actin filaments. In humans, this gene is located on Chromosome 1. FMN2 plays a role in the ability 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. ...

to migrate and innervate target tissues. FMN2 is present in the filopodial tips of neuronal growth cones and influences its pathfinding ability. In chicks FMN2 plays a role in migration of spinal commissural neurons. FMN2 is reported to act like a clutch molecule generating traction to join the actin

cytoskeleton The cytoskeleton is a complex, dynamic network of interlinking protein filaments present in the cytoplasm of all cells, including those of bacteria and archaea. In eukaryotes, it extends from the cell nucleus to the cell membrane and is comp ...

to the growth cone. Biallelic mutations in this gene have been associated with Nonsyndromic Autosomal Recessive Intellectual Disability. FMN2 double

knockout mice A knockout mouse, or knock-out mouse, is a genetically modified mouse (''Mus musculus'') in which researchers have inactivated, or " knocked out", an existing gene by replacing it or disrupting it with an artificial piece of DNA. They are importan ...

are seen to be normal in gross and microscopic morphology of the brain but show decreased fertility, improper positioning of the

metaphase Metaphase ( and ) is a stage of mitosis in the eukaryotic cell cycle in which chromosomes are at their second-most condensed and coiled stage (they are at their most condensed in anaphase). These chromosomes, carrying genetic information, align ...

spindle and problems in the

polar body A polar body is a small haploid cell that is formed at the same time as an egg cell during oogenesis, but generally does not have the ability to be fertilization, fertilized. It is named from its polar position in the egg. When certain diploid c ...

formation during

oogenesis Oogenesis, ovogenesis, or oögenesis is the differentiation of the ovum (egg cell) into a cell competent to further develop when fertilized. It is developed from the primary oocyte by maturation. Oogenesis is initiated in the embryonic stage. O ...

References

{{reflist Actin-based structures Structural proteins