Necdin: A purposive integrator of molecular interaction networks for mammalian neuron vitality

Necdin was originally found in 1991 as a hypothetical protein encoded by a neural differentiation-specific gene transcript in murine embryonal carcinoma cells. Virtually all postmitotic neurons and their precursor cells express the necdin gene (Ndn) during neuronal development. Necdin mRNA is expressed only from the paternal allele through genomic imprinting, a placental mammal-specific epigenetic mechanism. Necdin and its homologous MAGE (melanoma antigen) family, which have evolved presumedly from a subcomplex component of the SMC5/6 complex, are expressed exclusively in placental mammals. Paternal Ndn-mutated mice totally lack necdin expression and exhibit various types of neuronal abnormalities throughout the nervous system. Ndn-null neurons are vulnerable to detrimental stresses such as DNA damage. Necdin also suppresses both proliferation and apoptosis of neural stem/progenitor cells. Functional analyses using Ndn-manipulated cells reveal that necdin consistently exerts antimitotic, anti-apoptotic and prosurvival effects. Necdin interacts directly with a number of regulatory proteins including E2F1, p53, neurotrophin receptors, Sirt1 and PGC-1α, which serve as major hubs of protein-protein interaction networks for mitosis, apoptosis, differentiation, neuroprotection and energy homeostasis. This review focuses on necdin as a pleiotropic protein that integrates molecular interaction networks to promote neuronal vitality in modern placental mammals.