This gene encodes a member of the family of neuronal petraxins, synaptic proteins that are related to C-reactive protein. This protein is involved in excitatory synapse formation. It also plays a role in clustering of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)-type glutamate receptors at established synapses, resulting in non-apoptotic cell death of dopaminergic nerve cells. Up-regulation of this gene in Parkinson disease (PD) tissues suggests that the protein may be involved in the pathology of PD. [provided by RefSeq, Feb 2009].
Goetzl, Abner, Jicha, Kapogiannis, Schwartz: "Declining levels of functionally specialized synaptic proteins in plasma neuronal exosomes with progression of Alzheimer's disease." in: FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Vol. 32, Issue 2, pp. 888-893, (2018) (PubMed).