Hemicentin 1 (HMCN1)

Hemicentin 1, also known as HMCN1 encodes a large extracellular member of the immunoglobulin superfamily. A similar protein in C. elegans forms long, fine tracks at specific extracellular sites that are involved in many processes such as stabilization of the germline syncytium, anchorage of mechanosensory neurons to the epidermis, and organization of hemidesmosomes in the epidermis. Defects in HMCN1 are a cause of age-related macular degeneration type 1 (ARMD1). ARMD is a multifactorial eye disease and the most common cause of irreversible vision loss in the developed world. In most patients, the disease is manifest as ophthalmoscopically visible yellowish accumulations of protein and lipid that lie beneath the retinal pigment epithelium and within an elastin-containing structure known as Bruch membrane.