UNC

UNC is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:

Education

Politics

Unc-5

UNC-5 is a receptor of UNC-6 otherwise known as a netrin. Netrins are a class of proteins involved in axon guidance. UNC-5 uses repulsion to direct axons while the other netrin receptor UNC-40 attracts axons to the source of netrin production.

Discovery of netrins

The term netrin was first used in a study done in 1990 in Caenorhabditis elegans and was called UNC-6. Studies performed on rodents in 1994 have determined that netrins are vital to guidance cues. The vertebrate orthologue of UNC-6, netrin-1 was determined to be a key guidance cue for axons moving toward the ventral midline in the rodent embryo spinal cord. Netrin-1 has been identified as a critical component of embryonic development with functions in axon guidance, cell migration, morphogenesis and angiogenesis. The most recent studies have found that there are 5 types of netrins expressed in animals. Ectotopic expression of UNC-5 can result in short or long range repulsion.

Axon guidance

Protein unc-119 homolog

Protein unc-119 homolog A is a protein that in humans is encoded by the UNC119 gene.

Function

This gene is enriched in the photoreceptors of the retina. The encoded product shares strong homology with the C. elegans unc119 protein and it can functionally complement the C. elegans unc119 mutation. It has been localized to the photoreceptor synapses in the outer plexiform layer of the retina, and suggested to play a role in the mechanism of photoreceptor neurotransmitter release through the synaptic vesicle cycle. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been described for this gene.

Interactions

Protein unc-119 homolog has been shown to interact with:

References

Further reading