PLXNA4A

PLXNA4
Available structures PDB Ortholog search: PDBe RCSB List of PDB id codes 4E74
Identifiers
Aliases	PLXNA4, FAYV2820, PLEXA4, PLXNA4A, PLXNA4B, PRO34003, plexin A4
External IDs	MGI: 2179061 HomoloGene: 77587 GeneCards: PLXNA4
Gene ontology Molecular function • semaphorin receptor activity Cellular component • integral component of membrane • membrane • plasma membrane • semaphorin receptor complex • integral component of plasma membrane Biological process • glossopharyngeal nerve morphogenesis • neuron projection morphogenesis • regulation of axon extension involved in axon guidance • cranial nerve morphogenesis • regulation of cell migration • sympathetic nervous system development • vagus nerve morphogenesis • trigeminal nerve morphogenesis • nervous system development • semaphorin-plexin signaling pathway involved in axon guidance • anterior commissure morphogenesis • postganglionic parasympathetic fiber development • branchiomotor neuron axon guidance • regulation of negative chemotaxis • facial nerve structural organization • motor neuron axon guidance • trigeminal nerve structural organization • semaphorin-plexin signaling pathway • chemorepulsion of branchiomotor axon • signal transduction • facial nerve morphogenesis • axon guidance Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
RNA expression pattern
More reference expression data
Orthologs
Species	Human	Mouse
Entrez	91584	243743
Ensembl	ENSG00000221866	ENSMUSG00000029765
UniProt	Q9HCM2	Q80UG2
RefSeq (mRNA)	NM_001105543 NM_020911 NM_181775	NM_175750
RefSeq (protein)	NP_001099013.1 NP_065962.1 NP_861440.2	NP_786926.2
Location (UCSC)	Chr 7: 132.12 – 132.65 Mb	Chr 6: 32.14 – 32.59 Mb
PubMed search	[1]	[2]
Wikidata

Plexin-A4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the PLXNA4 gene.^[3]

Function

Plexin A4 binds to neuropilin 1 (Nrp1) and neuropilin 2 (Nrp2) and transduces signals from Sema3A, Sema6A, and Sema6B.^[4] These Nrp-plexin and semaphorin complexes initiate cascades that regulate diverse processes such as axon pruning and repulsion, dendritic attraction and branching, regulation of cell migration, vascular remodeling, and growth cone collapse.^[5][6] Both upregulation and downregulation of Plexin A4 has been observed following neural injury suggesting a dynamic role for Sema3A and Plexin A4 in neural maintenance and regeneration.^[5][7] Additionally, Sema3A and therefore its receptor, Plexin A4, have been implicated as possible components of fast-fatigable muscle fiber denervation in ALS.^[8]

Structure

Plexin A4 has ~1890 amino acids that include a likely signal sequence, transmembrane domain, and 12 extracellular N-linked glycosylation sites. It also contains domains consistent with other class A plexins including a Sema domain, three "Met-related sequences"/cysteine clusters, three extracellular glycine-proline repeats, intracellular SP domains, and a putative intracellular tyrosine kinase phosphorylation site.^[9]

Tissue distribution

In the adult rat central nervous system (CNS), plexin A4 was present in neurons and fibers throughout the brain and spinal cord, including neocortex, hippocampus, lateral hypothalamus, red nucleus, facial nucleus, and the mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus. Fibers expressed Plexin A4 in the lateral septum, nucleus accumbens, several thalamic nuclei, substantia nigra pars reticulata, zona incerta, pontine reticular formation, as well as in several cranial nerve nuclei.^[10] Plexin A4 has been found in dorsal and, to a greater extent, ventral horns of the spinal cord. Both motor neurons and interneurons in the ventral horn express Plexin A4. Motor axons exiting via the ventral roots and the ascending and descending white matter tracts express Plexin A4. In dorsal root ganglia, Plexin A4 is expressed in the neuronal cell bodies as well as the central and peripheral processes of those cells.^[5]

References