Predicted to enable signaling receptor binding activity. Involved in several processes, including axon guidance; establishment or maintenance of actin cytoskeleton polarity; and regulation of axon guidance. Acts upstream of or within dendrite morphogenesis. Located in axon; basement membrane; and cytoplasm. Is expressed in several structures, including P1; P10; accessory cell; muscle cell; and neurons. Human ortholog(s) of this gene implicated in congenital mirror movement disorder. Orthologous to several human genes including NTN1 (netrin 1).
WB Description
unc-6 encodes a netrin orthologous to the human and mouse netrin-1 precursor proteins; UNC-6 functions as a guidance molecule that regulates circumferential axon migrations as well as migration of mesodermal cells, such as the gonadal distal tip cell, along the dorsoventral axis; in addition, UNC-6 mediates anchor cell (AC) invasion by regulating localization of the UNC-40 netrin receptor to the invasive plasma membrane of the AC, allowing for subsequent formation of an invasive membrane domain; a secreted molecule, UNC-6 is first expressed during embryogenesis in ventral epidermoblasts; additional expression is seen in neurons and sheath cells; UNC-6 is involved in both attractive and repulsive interactions mediated by the UNC-40 and UNC-5 netrin receptors, respectively.