Afdn
Developmental stage
Highly expressed at restricted set of epithelial structures and highly concentrated at their junctional complex regions. At 6.5 dpc, localized at the most apical regions of cell-cell adhesion sites of the entire embryonic ectoderm; not detected in the extraembryonic regions. At 7.0 dpc, expressed in the primitive streak and the migrating paraxial mesoderm. At 7.5 dpc, highly expressed at the junctional complex regions in the primitive streak region (neuroepithelium) and the neural fold/grove region, but hardly detected in other areas of the ectoderm. By 8.5 dpc, highly expressed in the tail bud, somites and the paraxial mesoderm, concentrated at the junctional complex regions in neural tube, somites and pericardioperitoneal canal.
Function
Belongs to an adhesion system, probably together with the E-cadherin-catenin system, which plays a role in the organization of homotypic, interneuronal and heterotypic cell-cell adherens junctions (AJs) (By similarity). Nectin- and actin-filament-binding protein that connects nectin to the actin cytoskeleton (By similarity). May play a key role in the organization of epithelial structures of the embryonic ectoderm (PubMed:10477764). Essential for the organization of adherens junctions (By similarity).
Tissue Specificity
Isoform 1 is expressed only in a restricted set of epithelial structures during early embryogenesis.
Cellular localization
- Cell junction
- Adherens junction
- Not found at cell-matrix AJs.
Alternative names
Af6, Mllt4, Afdn, Afadin, Afadin adherens junction formation factor, Protein Af-6