MAP2

Official Full Name

microtubule associated protein 2

Organism

Homo sapiens

GeneID

4133

Background

This gene encodes a protein that belongs to the microtubule-associated protein family. The proteins of this family are thought to be involved in microtubule assembly, which is an essential step in neurogenesis. The products of similar genes in rat and mouse are neuron-specific cytoskeletal proteins that are enriched in dentrites, implicating a role in determining and stabilizing dentritic shape during neuron development. A number of alternatively spliced variants encoding distinct isoforms have been described. [provided by RefSeq, Jan 2010]

Synonyms

MAP-2; MAP2A; MAP2B; MAP2C;

Cat.No.	Product Name	Price

Cat.No.	Product Name	Price

Cat.No.	Product Name	Price

Cat.No.	Product Name	Price

Detailed Information

Microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) is an important regulator of the regulation of tubulin composition and is one of the major members of microtubule-associated proteins, playing an important role in the development of nervous system and maintenance of function. MAP2 is mainly found in the neuronal cell bodies and dendrites of the central nervous system. In addition, there is a small amount of expression in activated glial cells, oligodendrocytes and some non-neuronal tissues.

MAP2 in mammalian brain is mainly divided into two groups according to classical SDS-PAGE electrophoresis: (1) low molecular weight MAP2 (LMWMAP-2) with a relative molecular mass of 70 000 and 75,000 MAP2c and MAP2d protein, respectively. (2) High molecular weight MAP2 (HMWMAP-2) with a relative molecular mass of 280 000 and 270 000 MAP2a and MAP2b protein, respectively.

MAP2 Function

MAP2 promotes the growth of nerve cells and maintains the polarity of nerve cells. When treated with a specific antisense oligonucleotide, the expression of MAP2 was inhibited, and it was finally found that the growth of neurites was markedly slow or even stopped. In addition, in non-sense cells, increasing the amount of MAP2 also causes growth of a substance similar to the neurite matrix. Therefore, MAP2 can promote the growth of neurites, or the growth of neurites is inseparable from MAP2. High fear response experiments also confirmed that MAP2 is closely related to memory remodeling in the hippocampus.

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of proposed sequence of Aβ42, MAP2 and tau alterations in a CA1 pyramidal cell apical dendrite with aging.（Takahashi, et al, 2013）

The pathological aggregation of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide and axonal microtubule-associated protein tau is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the early stages of the disease process, accumulation of Aβ42 monomer and low molecular weight oligomer (M / LMW) peptides is important in the pathogenesis.

Takahashi et al. showed that the reduction of MAP2 began with the accumulation of M/LMW, indicating that the pathological process of MAP2 in the synaptic region leads to the accumulation of Aβ, reflecting the importance of MAP2 in AD. MAP2 phosphorylation was significantly enhanced in the developing brain neuron dendrites, suggesting that MAP2 phosphorylation promotes neuronal morphology and plasticity. After the MAP2 expression was completely inhibited, dendritic growth ceased, and the number and density of synapses were significantly reduced, indicating that MAP2 is inseparable from dendritic differentiation.

MAP2 and Tumor

MAP2 can be used as a tumor-marking substance having a neuron tendency such as an epithelial tumor derived from an epiblast. MAP2 is expressed in lung cancer and small cell carcinoma and can be used as a marker for its specific detection. The study of surface MAP2 was also affected by ribosylation and phospholipid creatinine. By detecting the expression of MAP2 in melanoma cell lines, it was found that the expression level of MAP2 in malignant melanoma cells was significantly lower than that in normal cells, and even the MAP2 was not expressed in melanin cells with higher degree of malignancy. This indicates that the degree of malignant shift and the degree of malignancy are inversely related to the expression of MAP2.

Studies have shown that in the test tube derived from human or mouse cells, by increasing the level of MAP2 in metastatic melanoma and invasive tumor cells, it is possible to induce tumor cell apoptosis and inhibit cell division cycle, while experiments with nude mice in vivo yielded the same results. The effect of MAP2 on melanoma may be related to the expression of the tumor gene BFAR in the cell. This provides clues to the discovery of new tumor treatments.

References:

Huang, Y. A. , Kao, J. W. , Tseng, T. H. , Chen, W. S. , Chiang, M. H. , & Hwang, E. . (2013). Microtubule-associated type ii protein kinase a is important for neurite elongation. PLOS ONE, 8.
Takahashi, R. H. , Estibaliz, C. Z. , Lin, M. T. , Milner, T. A. , Gouras, G. K. , & Iijima, K. M. . (2013). Accumulation of intraneuronal β-amyloid 42 peptides is associated with early changes in microtubule-associated protein 2 in neurites and synapses. PLoS ONE, 8(1), e51965-.
Cabrera, Jorge Rubén, & Lucas, José J. (2016). Map2 splicing is altered in huntington\"s disease. Brain Pathology.

Quick Inquiry

Interested in learning more?

Contact us today for a free consultation with the scientific team and discover how Creative Biogene can be a valuable resource and partner for your organization.

Request a quote today!

Inquiry