Neuroscience

Vision involves several parts of the eye processing light which send signals to the brain via the optic nerve to process information. Learn more about the vision process and related ocular proteins in the infographic below.

Novus Biologicals offers research reagents mentioned in this infographic including:

IRE1 resides in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as a transmembrane protein with both serine-threonine kinase and endoribonuclease activities. It acts as an unfolded protein response (UPR) sensor through XBP1 transcriptional activation and has been found to have many physiological functions due to the fundamental importance of protein folding.

PINK1 is a protein serine/threonine kinase (PTK) that protects the organelles from cellular stress and controls selective autophagy to clear damage. Exner, et. al. were among the first to report that PINK1 deficiency in humans was linked to autosomal recessive occurrences of Parkinson's disease (PD) and neurogenerative pathology (1).

xCT, encoded by the gene SLC7A11, is a member of the heterodimeric amino acid transporter family. Proteins within this family are linked to one another via a disulphide bond to form heterodimers consisting of one light subunit and one heavy subunit (1). These heterodimers facilitate the transport of amino acids across cell membranes. The light subunit xCT dimerises with the heavy subunit 4F2hc and the role of the xCT-4F2hc heterodimer, also known as system Xc-, is to couple the release of one molecule of intracellular glutamate to the uptake of one molecule of extracellular cystine (2).

Autophagy is a conserved mechanism whereby cells form double membrane autophagosomes to sequester cytoplasmic components for subsequent destruction by fusion with lysosomes (eukaryotes) or vacuoles (yeast). Targets of autophagy include aging proteins, damaged organelles and invasive pathogens, and the resulting breakdown products can be recycled back to the cytoplasm for re-use under conditions of starvation (1).

CD45, also known as protein tyrosine phosphatase, receptor type, C (PTPRC), was originally known as common leukocyte antigen and is a signal transducer involved in many physiological processes such as growth and differentiation, cancer transformation, and the cell cycle. It is a transmembrane protein tyrosine phosphatase that regulates Src kinases in T- and B-cell receptor signal transduction (1).

Alpha-synuclein is an abundant presynaptic protein expressed predominantly in brain, concentrated in presynaptic nerve terminals. Alpha-synuclein is deposited as fibrillary aggregates in neurons or glial cells which is a hallmark lesion in a subset of neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (all collectively referred to as synucleinopathies).

Ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal esterase-L1 (UCHL1), or gene product 9.5 (PGP9.5), belongs to a gene family that hydrolyzes small C-terminal adducts of ubiquitin to generate the monomers. The expression of UCHL1/PGP9.5 is highly specific to neurons and to cells of the diffuse neuroendocrine system as well as their tumors, and has been linked to neurodegenerative disease in humans.

CXCR4 (C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4) is a member of the G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR1) family. It is expressed as a multipass membrane protein in several tissues where it acts as the receptor for the C-X-C chemokine CXCL12/SDF-1. This ligand increases intracellular calcium ion levels and enhances activation of the MAPK1/MAPK3 cascade.

PINK1 (PTEN-induced putative kinase 1) is a mitochondrial directed serine-threonine kinase, that regulates normal mitochondrial function and transport vital to normal performance of neurons and neuronal survival. PINK1 has been shown to be localized to the cytosol, endoplasmic reticulum and the mitochondria. Some investigators have associated PINK1 localization to the intermembrane space, outer membrane insertion with a kinase domain facing towards the cytosol.