User:Lizagoodroe/Brevican

Brevican core protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the BCAN gene. Brevican is a member of the lectican protein family. This protein is a proteoglycan that is found primarily in the central nervous system. Research suggests that Brevican plays a role in maintaining the extracellular matrix of the brain. Brevican belongs to the proteoglycan family aggrecan/versican. In the adult brain, Brevican is one of the most prevalent chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans and contains the shortest core protein of this family. Its N-terminus has a hyaluronic acid-binding domain, while its C-terminus has a lectin-like domain.

Brevican is localised to the surface of neurons in the brain. In melanocytic cells, BCAN gene expression may be regulated by MITF.

Structure and Development
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Research has also shown expression of Brevican is highly concentrated at larger nodes of ranvier in neural tracts. According to study experimental results, in large diameter nodes, Brevican is an important factor in defining the specialization of the hyaluronan-binding nodal matrix assemblies.