Erythrocyte Membrane Protein Band 4.1 Like Protein 3 (EPB41L3)

DAL1 is 73% identical in its N-terminal domain to members of the protein 4.1 family and shares structural similarity to the Drosophila 4.1 homolog 'coracle.' DAL1 is normally expressed at high levels in brain, with lower levels in kidney, intestine, and testis. DAL1 loss in 60% of sporadic meningiomas. Analogous to merlin, the authors showed that DAL1 loss is an early event in meningioma tumorigenesis, suggesting that these 2 protein-4.1 family members are critical growth regulators in the pathogenesis of meningiomas. The authors hypothesized that membrane-associated alterations may be important in the early stages of neoplastic transformation. EPB41 and EPB41L3 genes from fish, bird, amphibian, and mammalian genomes exhibit shared features, including alternative first exons and differential splicing acceptors in exon 2.