alsin Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor ALS2
Last updated 17 Jun 2022
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The ALS2 gene provides instructions for making a protein called alsin. Alsin is produced in a wide range of tissues, with highest amounts in the brain. This protein is particularly abundant in motor neurons, the specialized nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control the movement of muscles.
Normal function
The ALS2 gene provides instructions for making a protein called alsin. Alsin is produced in a wide range of tissues, with highest amounts in the brain. This protein is particularly abundant in motor neurons, the specialized nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control the movement of muscles.
Alsin turns on (activates) multiple proteins called GTPases that convert a molecule called GTP into another molecule called GDP. GTPases play important roles in cell division, the process by which cells mature to carry out specific functions (differentiation), and the self-destruction of cells (apoptosis). The GTPases play important roles in several cell processes. The GTPases that are activated by alsin are involved in the proper placement of the various proteins and fats that make up the cell membrane, the transport of molecules from the cell membrane to the interior of the cell (endocytosis), and the development of specialized structures called axons and dendrites that project from neurons and are essential for the transmission of nerve impulses.
Conditions referring to this gene or chromosome
Other names
ALS2_HUMAN
ALS2CR6
ALSJ
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 2 (juvenile)
IAHSP
KIAA1563
PLSJ
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Further reading and references
- alsin Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor ALS2; MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine.
- Devon RS, Helm JR, Rouleau GA, Leitner Y, Lerman-Sagie T, Lev D, Hayden MR. The first nonsense mutation in alsin results in a homogeneous phenotype of infantile-onset ascending spastic paralysis with bulbar involvement in two siblings. Clin Genet. 2003 Sep;64(3):210-5. doi: 10.1034/j.1399-0004.2003.00138.x.
- Eymard-Pierre E, Lesca G, Dollet S, Santorelli FM, di Capua M, Bertini E, Boespflug-Tanguy O. Infantile-onset ascending hereditary spastic paralysis is associated with mutations in the alsin gene. Am J Hum Genet. 2002 Sep;71(3):518-27. doi: 10.1086/342359. Epub 2002 Jul 26.
- Eymard-Pierre E, Yamanaka K, Haeussler M, Kress W, Gauthier-Barichard F, Combes P, Cleveland DW, Boespflug-Tanguy O. Novel missense mutation in ALS2 gene results in infantile ascending hereditary spastic paralysis. Ann Neurol. 2006 Jun;59(6):976-80. doi: 10.1002/ana.20879.
- Ferraiuolo L, Kirby J, Grierson AJ, Sendtner M, Shaw PJ. Molecular pathways of motor neuron injury in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Nat Rev Neurol. 2011 Nov;7(11):616-30. doi: 10.1038/nrneurol.2011.152.
- Kunst CB. Complex genetics of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Am J Hum Genet. 2004 Dec;75(6):933-47. doi: 10.1086/426001. Epub 2004 Oct 11. No abstract available.
- Panzeri C, De Palma C, Martinuzzi A, Daga A, De Polo G, Bresolin N, Miller CC, Tudor EL, Clementi E, Bassi MT. The first ALS2 missense mutation associated with JPLS reveals new aspects of alsin biological function. Brain. 2006 Jul;129(Pt 7):1710-9. doi: 10.1093/brain/awl104. Epub 2006 May 2.
- Racis L, Tessa A, Pugliatti M, Storti E, Agnetti V, Santorelli FM. Infantile-onset ascending hereditary spastic paralysis: a case report and brief literature review. Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2014 Mar;18(2):235-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpn.2013.09.009. Epub 2013 Oct 9.
- Sheerin UM, Schneider SA, Carr L, Deuschl G, Hopfner F, Stamelou M, Wood NW, Bhatia KP. ALS2 mutations: juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and generalized dystonia. Neurology. 2014 Mar 25;82(12):1065-7. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000000254. Epub 2014 Feb 21.
- Tudor EL, Perkinton MS, Schmidt A, Ackerley S, Brownlees J, Jacobsen NJ, Byers HL, Ward M, Hall A, Leigh PN, Shaw CE, McLoughlin DM, Miller CC. ALS2/Alsin regulates Rac-PAK signaling and neurite outgrowth. J Biol Chem. 2005 Oct 14;280(41):34735-40. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M506216200. Epub 2005 Jul 26.
- Yamanaka K, Vande Velde C, Eymard-Pierre E, Bertini E, Boespflug-Tanguy O, Cleveland DW. Unstable mutants in the peripheral endosomal membrane component ALS2 cause early-onset motor neuron disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Dec 23;100(26):16041-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2635267100. Epub 2003 Dec 10.
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