Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule

Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (NCAM, also the cluster of differentiation CD56) is a homophilic binding glycoprotein expressed on the surface of neurons, glia, skeletal muscle and natural killer cells. NCAM has been implicated as having a role in cell–cell adhesion, neurite outgrowth, synaptic plasticity, and learning and memory.

Read more about Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule:  Forms, Domains and Homophilic Binding, Minor Exons, Posttranslational Modification, Function, Pathology, Anti-NCAM Therapy

Famous quotes containing the words cell and/or molecule:

    A cell for prayer, a hall for joy,—
    They treated nature as they would.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    We can come up with a working definition of life, which is what we did for the Viking mission to Mars. We said we could think in terms of a large molecule made up of carbon compounds that can replicate, or make copies of itself, and metabolize food and energy. So that’s the thought: macrocolecule, metabolism, replication.
    Cyril Ponnamperuma (b. 1923)