Open AccessNFAT5 Has a Job in the Brain
Author(s) -
Xingliang Yang,
Xin Wang,
Biwen Peng
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
developmental neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.893
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1421-9859
pISSN - 0378-5866
DOI - 10.1159/000493789
Subject(s) - biology , microbiology and biotechnology , transgene , immune system , genetically modified mouse , fetus , neuroscience , gene , immunology , genetics , pregnancy
Nuclear factor of activated T cells 5 (NFAT5) has recently been classified as a new member of the Rel family. In addition, there are 5 more well-defined members (NF-κB and NFAT1–4) in the Rel family, which participate in regulating the expression of immune and inflammatory response-related genes. NFAT5 was initially identified in renal medullary cells where it regulated the expression of osmoprotective-related genes during the osmotic response. Many studies have demonstrated that NFAT5 is highly expressed in the nuclei of neurons in fetal and adult brains. Additionally, its expression is approximately 10-fold higher in fetal brains. With the development of detection technologies (laser scanning confocal microscopy, transgene technology, etc.), recent studies suggest that NFAT5 is also expressed in glial cells and plays a more diverse functional role. This article aims to summarize the current knowledge regarding the expression of NFAT5, its regulation of activation, and varied biological functions in the brain.