Neuronal growth regulator 1

Neuronal growth regulator 1 (NEGR1) is a 354-amino acid protein that may function in cell adhesion and act as a trans-neural growth-promoting factor supporting regenerative axon sprouting in the mammalian brain (UniProt: Q7Z3B1). Its precise molecular role remains incompletely characterized, though its putative involvement in neuronal growth and synaptic plasticity suggests relevance to nervous system development and maintenance.

NEGR1 has not been formally annotated with disease associations in UniProt, but its cellular adhesion and neurotrophic functions implicate it in neural connectivity and circuit integrity. The protein's putative role in axon regeneration suggests potential relevance to neurodegeneration-associated synaptic loss.

In Alzheimer's disease, NEGR1 is consistently down-regulated in post-mortem human AD brain tissue compared to age-matched controls (mean log2 fold-change: −0.53; Chaparral AD proteomics). This reduction was observed across multiple subcellular fractions in a TMT-labeled quantitative proteomics study, suggesting a broad loss of this growth-promoting factor that may contribute to impaired neuronal plasticity and regenerative capacity in AD pathology.