UNC13A

unc-13 homolog A (C. elegans)
Identifiers
Aliases	UNC13A, Munc13-1
External IDs	MGI: 3051532 HomoloGene: 11279 GeneCards: 23025
Genetically Related Diseases
Disease Name		References
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
obesity
Gene ontology Molecular function • protein N-terminus binding • syntaxin-1 binding • metal ion binding • diacylglycerol binding Cellular component • cytoplasm • membrane • neuromuscular junction • plasma membrane • synapse • presynaptic active zone • axon • cell junction • neuron projection • presynaptic membrane Biological process • cell differentiation • intracellular signal transduction • synaptic vesicle docking • synaptic transmission, glutamatergic • regulation of short-term neuronal synaptic plasticity • positive regulation of neurotransmitter secretion • beta-amyloid metabolic process • neuromuscular junction development • positive regulation of dendrite extension • regulation of synaptic transmission, glutamatergic • innervation • synaptic vesicle maturation • neurotransmitter secretion • exocytosis • synaptic transmission Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
Species	Human	Mouse
Entrez	23025	382018
Ensembl	ENSG00000130477	ENSMUSG00000034799
UniProt	Q9UPW8	Q4KUS2
RefSeq (mRNA)	NM_001080421 XM_011527809 XM_011527810 XM_011527811 XM_011527812 XM_011527813	NM_001029873
RefSeq (protein)	NP_001073890.2	NP_001025044.2
Location (UCSC)	Chr 19: 17.6 – 17.69 Mb	Chr 8: 71.62 – 71.67 Mb
PubMed search
Wikidata

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Unc-13 homolog A (C. elegans) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the UNC13A gene.^[1]

Function

This gene encodes a member of the UNC13 family.^[1] UNC13A plays a role in vesicle maturation during exocytosis as a target of the diacylglycerol second messenger pathway. It is involved in neurotransmitter release by acting in synaptic vesicle priming prior to vesicle fusion and participates in the activity-dependent refilling of readily releasable vesicle pool. It is particularly important in most glutamatergic-mediated synapses but not GABA-mediated synapses. It plays a role in dendrite formation by melanocytes and in secretory granule priming in insulin secretion.^[2]

Protein structure

Several conserved domains have been found in UNC13A. These conserved domains include three C2 domains. One C2 domain is centrally located, another is at the carboxyl end, and there is a third. In addition, there is one C1 domain, as well as Munc13 homology domains 1 (MHD1) and 2 (MHD2).^[2][3]

Subcellular location

UNC13A is localized to the active zone of presynaptic density. It is translocated to the plasma membrane in response to phorbol ester binding.^[2]

Interaction

UNC13A has been shown to interact with:

• STX1A,^[2]
• STX1B1,^[2]
• DOC2A,^[2]
• BSN,^[2]
• RIMS1,^[2]
• RIMS2,^[2]
• ERC2,^[2] and
• RAB3A.^[2]

Clinical significance

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in this gene may be associated with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.^[4][5][6][7] This single nucleotide polymorphism has been discovered on chromosome 19. This variation of the single nucleotide involving UNC13A has also been implicated in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Pathology involving TDP-43 is a result of the single nucleotide polymorphisms in both ALS and FTD.^[8] This gene has also been associated with Alzheimer's Disease (AD).^[9]

References

1. "Entrez Gene: Unc-13 homolog A (C. elegant)".
2. "UNC13A - Protein unc-13 homolog A - Homo sapiens (Human) - UNC13A gene & protein". www.uniprot.org.
3. "NCBI Conserved Domain Search". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
4. van Es MA, Veldink JH, Saris CG, Blauw HM, van Vught PW, Birve A, et al. (October 2009). "Genome-wide association study identifies 19p13.3 (UNC13A) and 9p21.2 as susceptibility loci for sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis". Nature Genetics 41 (10): 1083–7. doi:10.1038/ng.442. PMID 19734901.
5. Bosco DA, Landers JE (December 2010). "Genetic determinants of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as therapeutic targets". CNS & Neurological Disorders Drug Targets 9 (6): 779–90. doi:10.2174/187152710793237494. PMID 20942785.
6. Su XW, Broach JR, Connor JR, Gerhard GS, Simmons Z (June 2014). "Genetic heterogeneity of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: implications for clinical practice and research". Muscle & Nerve 49 (6): 786–803. doi:10.1002/mus.24198. PMID 24488689.
7. Finsterer J, Burgunder JM (February 2014). "Recent progress in the genetics of motor neuron disease". European Journal of Medical Genetics 57 (2-3): 103–12. doi:10.1016/j.ejmg.2014.01.002. PMID 24503148.
8. Diekstra, Frank P.; Van Deerlin, Vivianna M.; van Swieten, John C.; Al-Chalabi, Ammar; Ludolph, Albert C.; Weishaupt, Jochen H.; Hardiman, Orla; Landers, John E.; Brown, Robert H. (2014-07-01). "C9orf72 and UNC13A are shared risk loci for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia: a genome-wide meta-analysis". Annals of Neurology 76 (1): 120–133. doi:10.1002/ana.24198. ISSN 1531-8249. PMC 4137231. PMID 24931836.
9. Hartlage-Rübsamen, Maike; Waniek, Alexander; Roßner, Steffen (2013-02-01). "Munc13 genotype regulates secretory amyloid precursor protein processing via postsynaptic glutamate receptors". International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience 31 (1): 36–45. doi:10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2012.10.001.

Further reading

• Augustin I, Rosenmund C, Sudhof TC, Brose N (1999). "Munc 13-1 is essential for fusion competence of glutamatergic synaptic vesicles". Nature. 400 (6743): 457–61. PMID 10440375.
• Betz A, Augustin I, Brose N, Ashery U, Neher E, Rettig J, Südhof T (1998). "Munc13-1 is a presynaptic phorbol ester receptor that enhances neurotransmitter release". Neuron. 21 (1): 123–36. PMID 9697857.
• Betz A, Thakur P, Junge HJ, Ashery U, Rhee J, Scheuss V, Brose N (2001). "Functional Interaction of the Active Zone Proteins Munc13-1 and RIM1 in Synaptic Vesicle Priming". Neuron. 30 (1): 183–96. PMID 11343654.
• Huang C, Yang D, Lin C, Kao L (2011). "Involvement of Rab3A in Vesicle Priming During Exocytosis: Interaction with Munc13-1 and Munc18-1". Traffic. 12 (10): 1356–70. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0854.2011.01237.x.
• Koch H, Brose N, Hofmann (2000). "Definition of Munc13-homology-domains and characterization of a novel ubiquitously expressed Munc13 isoform". Biochemical Journal. 349 (1): 247–53. doi:10.1042/0264-6021.
• Lavi A, Sheinin A, Shapira R, Zelmanoff D, Ashery U (2014). "DOC2B and Munc13-1 Differentially Regulate Neuronal Network Activity". Cerebral Cortex. 24 (9): 2309–23. doi:10.1093/cercor/bht081.
• Ohtsuka T, Takao-Rikitsu E, Inoue E, Inoue M, Takeuchi M, Matsubara K, Deguchi-Tawarada M, Satoh K, Morimoto K, Nakanishi H, Takai YJ (2002). "Cast: a novel protein of the cytomatrix at the active zone of synapses that forms a ternary complex with RIM1 and munc13-1". Journal of Cell Biology. 158 (3): 577–90. doi:10.1083/jcb.200202083.

This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.