Utrophin

Utrophin (UTRN) is a cytoplasmic protein that functions in anchoring the cytoskeleton to the plasma membrane, serving a structural role in cellular organization (UniProt: P46939). The protein is expressed across tissues and participates in maintaining cellular architecture through interactions with the cytoskeletal network. No primary disease associations are documented in UniProt records for this protein.

In Alzheimer's disease, utrophin demonstrates altered expression in affected brain tissue. Analysis of post-mortem AD brain samples compared to age-matched controls using TMT-labeled proteomics across four subcellular fractions (P2, P3, S2, S3) revealed upregulation of utrophin in AD tissue, with a mean log2 fold-change of 0.68 (Chaparral AD proteomics). This elevation suggests a potential compensatory response or structural reorganization occurring in the AD brain, though the biological significance of this change remains to be determined. The upregulation direction warrants further investigation into whether utrophin dysregulation contributes to cytoskeletal pathology in neurodegeneration.