Neurofilament light polypeptide

NEFL
Identifiers
Aliases	NEFL, CMT1F, CMT2E, NF-L, NF68, NFL, PPP1R110, neurofilament, light polypeptide, neurofilament light, CMTDIG, neurofilament light chain
External IDs	OMIM: 162280; MGI: 97313; HomoloGene: 4487; GeneCards: NEFL; OMA:NEFL - orthologs
Gene location (Human) Chr. Chromosome 8 (human)[1] Band 8p21.2 Start 24,950,955 bp[1] End 24,956,721 bp[1]
Gene location (Mouse) Chr. Chromosome 14 (mouse)[2] Band 14|14 D1 Start 68,321,312 bp[2] End 68,326,544 bp[2]
RNA expression pattern Bgee Human Mouse (ortholog) Top expressed in spinal ganglia Pons lateral nuclear group of thalamus endothelial cell superior vestibular nucleus Brodmann area 23 orbitofrontal cortex pars compacta middle temporal gyrus frontal pole Top expressed in motor neuron facial motor nucleus anterior horn of spinal cord deep cerebellar nuclei superior cervical ganglion medial vestibular nucleus pontine nuclei trigeminal ganglion dorsal tegmental nucleus substantia nigra More reference expression data BioGPS More reference expression data
Gene ontology Molecular function protein-macromolecule adaptor activity structural molecule activity structural constituent of cytoskeleton protein C-terminus binding protein binding identical protein binding protein heterodimerization activity protein domain specific binding phospholipase binding structural constituent of postsynaptic intermediate filament cytoskeleton Cellular component cytoplasm cytosol neurofilament growth cone myelin sheath TSC1-TSC2 complex axon neuron projection intermediate filament axon cytoplasm neuromuscular junction Schaffer collateral - CA1 synapse cholinergic synapse postsynaptic intermediate filament cytoskeleton presynaptic intermediate filament cytoskeleton Biological process negative regulation of neuron apoptotic process retrograde axonal transport intermediate filament organization response to sodium arsenite neuron projection morphogenesis protein polymerization intermediate filament bundle assembly neuromuscular process controlling balance neurofilament bundle assembly response to corticosterone response to peptide hormone response to organic substance positive regulation of axonogenesis MAPK cascade anterograde axonal transport axonal transport of mitochondrion regulation of axon diameter peripheral nervous system axon regeneration locomotion response to acrylamide spinal cord development cerebral cortex development intermediate filament polymerization or depolymerization neurofilament cytoskeleton organization hippocampus development response to toxic substance microtubule cytoskeleton organization axon development synapse maturation postsynaptic intermediate filament cytoskeleton organization regulation of NMDA receptor activity Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs Species Human Mouse Entrez 4747 18039 Ensembl ENSG00000277586 ENSMUSG00000022055 UniProt P07196 P08551 RefSeq (mRNA) NM_006158 NM_010910 RefSeq (protein) NP_006149 NP_035040 Location (UCSC) Chr 8: 24.95 – 24.96 Mb Chr 14: 68.32 – 68.33 Mb PubMed search [3] [4]
Wikidata
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Neurofilament light polypeptide, also known as neurofilament light chain, abbreviated to NF-L or Nfl and with the HGNC name NEFL is a member of the intermediate filament protein family. This protein family consists of over 50 human proteins divided into 5 major classes, the Class I and II keratins, Class III vimentin, GFAP, desmin and the others, the Class IV neurofilaments and the Class V nuclear lamins. There are four major neurofilament subunits, NF-L, NF-M, NF-H and α-internexin. These form heteropolymers which assemble to produce 10 nm neurofilaments which are only expressed in neurons where they are major structural proteins, particularly concentrated in large projection axons. Axons are particularly sensitive to mechanical and metabolic compromise and as a result axonal degeneration is a significant problem in many neurological disorders. The detection of neurofilament subunits in CSF and blood has therefore become widely used as a biomarker of ongoing axonal compromise. The NF-L protein is encoded by the NEFL gene.^[5][6] Neurofilament light chain is a biomarker that can be measured with immunoassays in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma and reflects axonal damage in a wide variety of neurological disorders.^[7][8] It is a useful marker for disease monitoring in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,^[9] multiple sclerosis,^[10] Alzheimer's disease,^[11][12] and more recently Huntington's disease.^[13] It is also promising marker for follow-up of patients with brain tumors.^[14] Higher levels of blood or CSF NF-L have been associated with increased mortality, as would be expected as release of this protein reflects ongoing axonal loss.^[15] Recent work performed as a collaboration between EnCor Biotechnology Inc. and the University of Florida showed that the NF-L antibodies employed in the most widely used NF-L assays are specific for cleaved forms of NF-L generated by proteolysis induced by cell death.^[16] Methods used in different studies for NfL measurement are sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), electrochemiluminescence, and high-sensitive single molecule array (SIMOA).^[17]

It is associated with Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease 1F and 2E.^[5]

Neurofilament light polypeptide has been shown to interact with:

• MAP2,^[18]
• Protein kinase N1,^[19] and
• TSC1.^[20]