N-myc Downstream Regulated Gene 2 (NDRG2)

NDRG2 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 play a role in neurite outgrowth. This gene may be involved in glioblastoma carcinogenesis. 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.

Kalaydjieva et al. (2000) identified the homologous human genes, which they referred as NDRG2 and NDRG3. Kalaydjieva et al. (2000) stated that the 3 known human NDRG proteins show considerable homology: 54% amino acid sequence identity between NDRG1 and NDRG2, 67% between NDRG1 and NDRG3, and 58% between NDRG2 and NDRG3.