• Purity

  >95%, by SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions and visualized by silver stain

• Endotoxin Level

  <1.0 EU per 1 μg of the protein by the LAL method.  

• Activity

  Measured by its binding ability in a functional ELISA. Immobilized Recombinant Mouse Neurturin (Catalog # ) at 1 μg/mL binds Recombinant Mouse GFR alpha ‑2/GDNF R alpha ‑2 Fc Chimera with an apparent K    _D <5 nM.  

• Source

  Mouse myeloma cell line, NS0-derived

  Mouse GFRa-2 (Ser22-Ser441) Accession # Q3UUD8	DIEGRMD	Human IgG1 (Pro100-Lys330)	6-His tag
  N-terminus			C-terminus

• Accession #

• N-terminal Sequence    
  Analysis

  Ser22

• Predicted Molecular Mass

  74 kDa (monomer)

• SDS-PAGE

  90 kDa, reducing conditions

Background: GFR alpha-2/GDNF R alpha-2

Glial cell line-derived growth factor (GDNF), neurturin (NTN), persephin (PSP) and artemin, distant members of the TGF-beta  superfamily, are neurotrophic factors for a variety of neuronal populations in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The bioactivities of GDNF and NTN are mediated through a receptor complex composed of the non ligand-binding signaling subunit (c-Ret receptor tyrosine kinase) and either of two ligand binding subunits, GDNF receptor alpha -1 (GFR alpha -1, also known as Trn R1) or GFR alpha -2 (also known as Trn R2). GFR alpha -1 and -2 are members of a family of at least four cysteine-rich glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked cell surface proteins that share conserved placements of many of their cysteine residues. Binding of GDNF or NTN to membrane-associated GFR alpha -1 or GFR alpha -2 initiates the association with and activation of the Ret tyrosine kinase.

Mouse GFR alpha -2 cDNA encodes a 463 amino acid (aa) residue protein with a putative N-terminal 21 aa residue hydrophobic signal peptide. Like other GPI-linked proteins, rat GFR alpha -2 has a C-terminal hydrophobic region which is preceded by a 3 aa residue (SGS) GPI-binding site. Human GFR alpha -2 shares 96.5% amino acid identity with mouse GFR alpha -2. The expression of the various GFR alpha s are differentially regulated in the central and peripheral nervous system, suggesting complementary roles for the GFR alpha s in mediating the activities of the GDNF family of neurotrophic factors.

• References:

1. Thompson, J. et al. (1998) Mol. Cell Neurosci. 11:117.

2. Trupp, M. et al. (1998) Mol. Cell Neurosci. 11:47.

3. Baloh, R.H. et al. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95:5801.

4. Baloh, R.H. et al. (1998) Neuron 21:1291.

• Long Name:

  Glial Cell line-derived Neurotrophic Factor Receptor alpha 2

• Entrez Gene IDs:

  2675 (Human); 14586 (Mouse)

• Alternate Names:

  GDNF family receptor alpha 2; GDNF family receptor alpha-2; GDNF R alpha-2; GDNF receptor alpha-2; GDNF receptor beta; GDNFR-alpha-2; GDNFR-beta; GDNFRBRET ligand 2; GFR alpha2; GFR alpha-2; GFRA2; GFRa-2; GFR-alpha 2; GFR-alpha-2; glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor receptor, beta; Neurturin receptor alpha; NRTNR-alpha; NTNRA; NTNR-alpha; PI-linked cell-surface accessory protein; RETL2TGF-beta-related neurotrophic factor receptor 2; TGF-beta related neurotrophic factor receptor 2; TRN receptor, GPI-anchored; TRNR2NRTNR-ALPHA