Description
Slit2 is a member of the Slit family that signals through the Roundabout (Robo) receptor as a repellent for axon guidance and neuronal migration, and can also act as a chemoattractant to vascular endothelial cells and a chemotaxis inhibitor for leukocytes. Slit2 is expressed primarily in the fetal lung, kidney, and adult spinal cord, and to a lesser extent in adult adrenal gland, thyroid and trachea. Slit2 is initially synthesized as a 1499 amino acid precursor, which is subsequently cleaved into N-terminal and C-terminal fragments, designated as Slit2-N and Slit2-C respectively. The neurodevelopment related activities, as measured by the ability to repel olfactory bulb axons and to induce branching in dorsal root ganglia axons, are contained only in the N-terminal fragment. Recombinant human Slit2-N is a 1088 amino acid glycoprotein corresponding to the N-terminal portion of the full length Slit2 precursor. Due to glycosylation Slit2-N migrates at an apparent molecular weight of approximately 120.0-140.0 kDa by SDS-PAGE analysis under reducing conditions