Cell adhesion molecule Dscam1

UniProtKB accession:  Q0E9H9

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UniProtKB description:  Cell surface receptor involved in guidance and targeting of growing nerve axons (PubMed:10892653). Required during Bolwig's organ differentiation for accurate and efficient targeting of photoreceptor neuron axons to their synaptic targets in the brain via the P2 intermediate target neuron (PubMed:10892653). Involved in isoneural self-avoidance during dendrite arborization but not in heteroneural recognition and repulsion during tiling by related neurons of the same class (PubMed:17482551). Involved in regulating axon bifurcation and divergent extension in the developing mushroom body (PubMed:11856530, PubMed:15339648). Essential for axon arborisation in ellipsoid body (PubMed:11856530, PubMed:15339648). Exhibits an extraordinary level of molecular diversity resulting from alternative splicing (PubMed:10892653). Isoforms differing in their ectodomain makeup show a high degree of functional redundancy while isoforms with different transmembrane domains are involved in different neuronal morphogenetic processes and are differentially targeted to dendrites or axons (PubMed:15339648). The vast majority of isoforms exhibit strong isoform-specific homophilic binding (PubMed:15339666, PubMed:17889655). Individual cells express a distinct randomly generated repertoire of isoforms (PubMed:14758360). Cell surfaces bearing identical repertoires of Dscam1 isoforms, such as those from the same cell, trigger recognition and avoidance (PubMed:17482551). A subset of isoforms is expressed in fat body cells and hemocytes, cells that are part of the insect immune response, and these isoforms are secreted into the hemolymph (PubMed:16109846). The secreted form comprising the ectodomain can bind to bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, and may act as an opsonin enhancing their phagocytosis by hemocytes (PubMed:16109846).