Neurotrophins

Neurturin is a disulfide-linked homodimer neurotrophic factor structurally related to GDNF, artemin, and persephin.  These proteins belong to the cysteine-knot family of growth factors that assume stable dimeric structures.  Neurturin signals through a multicomponent receptor system, composed of RET and one of four GFRα (α1-α4) receptors.  Neurturin promotes the development and survival of sympathetic and sensory neurons by signaling through a receptor system composed of RET and GFRα2.  The functional form of human neurturin is a disulfide-linked homodimer, of two 11.8 kDa polypeptide monomers (204 total amino acid residues).  Each monomer contains seven conserved cysteine residues, one of which (Cys 69) is used for inter-chain disulfide bridging, and the others are involved in the intramolecular ring formation known as the cysteine-knot configuration.