NIPA Like Domain Containing Protein 3 (NIPAL3)

Both human NPAL3 and mouse NPAL3 are ubiquitously expressed and encode highly conserved proteins. To further elucidate the function of the Npal3 gene, knockout (Npal3) mice were generated. Intensive phenotypic analyses revealed that disruption of the Npal3 gene results in a pleiotropic phenotype. In addition, in NPAL3 mutants the number of NK cells was decreased and changes in IgM, IgG(2), and IgA were observed, indicating that the immune system is also affected. Interestingly, increased IgE levels as well as impaired lung functions were observed in mutant males but not in mutant females. It should be noted that the human Npal3 gene is located at 1p36.12-->p35.1, and atopic diseases were previously linked to this genomic region. Thus, the Npal3 mice could serve as a valuable model system for studying atopic diseases.