N-myc Downstream Regulated Gene 4 (NDRG4)

NDRG4 is a member of the N-myc downregulated gene family which belongs to the alpha/beta hydrolase superfamily. The protein encoded by this gene is a cytoplasmic protein that may be involved in the regulation of mitogenic signalling in vascular smooth muscles cells. Several alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene have been described, but the full-length nature of some of these variants has not been determined. Ndrg4 is expressed predominantly in the early postnatal rat brain and may be related to neural cell differentiation. PC12 cell lines stably expressing increased levels of Ndrg4 protein display enhanced NGF-induced phosphorylation of MEK and ERK. In contrast, the Ndrg4-C2-overexpressed PC12 cell lines showed attenuated NGF-promoted phosphorylation of Elk-1, which is a nuclear target of ERK.