SLIT2
Description
The SLIT2 (slit guidance ligand 2) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 4.
Slit homolog 2 protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SLIT2 gene.
== Interactions == SLIT2 has been shown to interact with Glypican 1.
SLIT2 is believed to serve as a molecular guidance cue during cell migration, with its function being mediated through interactions with roundabout homolog receptors. In neural development, SLIT2 is involved in the navigation of axons at the ventral midline of the neural tube and the projection of axons to different regions. SLIT1 and SLIT2 are thought to be critical for midline guidance in the forebrain, acting as repulsive signals that prevent inappropriate midline crossing by axons projecting from the olfactory bulb. During spinal cord development, SLIT2 might play a role in guiding commissural axons upon reaching the floor plate by modulating their response to netrin. In vitro studies show that SLIT2 can silence the attractive effect of NTN1, but not its growth-stimulatory effect. This silencing requires the formation of a ROBO1-DCC complex. SLIT2 might be involved in spinal cord midline post-crossing axon repulsion. In vitro, only commissural axons that have crossed the midline responded to SLIT2. In the developing visual system, SLIT2 appears to function as a repellent for retinal ganglion axons, providing repulsion that directs these axons along their appropriate paths before and after they pass through the optic chiasm. In vitro studies demonstrate that SLIT2 collapses and repels retinal ganglion cell growth cones. SLIT2 seems to play a role in the branching and arborization of CNS sensory axons and in neuronal cell migration. In vitro, the N-product of SLIT2, but not the C-product, repels olfactory bulb (OB) axons, but not dorsal root ganglia (DRG) axons, induces OB growth cone collapse, and induces branching of DRG axons. SLIT2 appears to be involved in regulating leukocyte migration.
SLIT2 is also known as SLIL3, Slit-2.
Associated Diseases
- congenital hydronephrosis
- congenital anomaly of kidney and urinary tract
- type 2 diabetes mellitus
- thyroid gland adenocarcinoma
