Nidogen

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title: "Nidogen" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["human-proteins", "protein-families", "extracellular-matrix-proteins"] topic_path: "general/human-proteins" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nidogen" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

Nidogens, formerly known as entactins, are a family of sulfated monomeric glycoproteins located in the basal lamina of parahoxozoans. Two nidogens have been identified in humans: nidogen-1 (NID1) and nidogen-2 (NID2). Remarkably, vertebrates are still capable of stabilizing basement membrane in the absence of either identified nidogen. In contrast, those lacking both nidogen-1 and nidogen-2 typically die prematurely during embryonic development as a result of defects existing in the heart and lungs. Nidogen have been shown to play a crucial role during organogenesis in late embryonic development, particularly in cardiac and lung development. Insufficient levels of nidogen in mice causes poorly developed organs such as the lungs and heart, which ultimately ensues to an early death. Due to nidogen being necessary in the formation of basement membranes, serving as a linker protein, and those basement proteins being shown to be necessary during tissue growth, nidogen is crucial for embryonic development. From an evolutionary perspective, nidogens are highly conserved across vertebrates and invertebrates, retaining their ability to bind laminin.

In nematodes, nidogen-1 is necessary for axon guidance, but not for basement membrane assembly**.**

References

References

  1. (2009). "The Sticky Synapse: Cell Adhesion Molecules and Their Role in Synapse Formation and Maintenance". Springer.
  2. (July 2019). "Early animal evolution: a morphologist's view". Royal Society Open Science.
  3. (2001). "Nidogen-1 and nidogen-2 are found in basement membranes during human embryonic development". The Histochemical Journal.
  4. (2014-11-11). "Analysis of nidogen-1/laminin γ1 interaction by cross-linking, mass spectrometry, and computational modeling reveals multiple binding modes". PLOS ONE.
  5. (September 2008). "A synaptic nidogen: developmental regulation and role of nidogen-2 at the neuromuscular junction". Neural Development.
  6. (August 2005). "Compound genetic ablation of nidogen 1 and 2 causes basement membrane defects and perinatal lethality in mice". Molecular and Cellular Biology.
  7. (April 2021). "The basement membrane protein nidogen-1 supports platelet adhesion and activation". Platelets.
  8. (September 1995). "Role of laminin-nidogen complexes in basement membrane formation during embryonic development". Experientia.
  9. (October 1998). "Structural and genetic analysis of laminin-nidogen interaction". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
  10. (April 2000). "Positioning of longitudinal nerves in C. elegans by nidogen". Science.

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human-proteinsprotein-familiesextracellular-matrix-proteins