PNMA2: Proteins and Enzymes

In patients with cancer, symptoms of limbic and brain-stem dysfunction may result from a para-neoplastic disorder. Two proteins, Ma1 and Ma2, were discovered by presence of autoantibodies against them. Antibodies to Ma1 and Ma2 proteins identify a paraneoplastic disorder that affects the limbic system, brain stem, and cerebellum. These autoantibodies were used to clone Ma2, which codes for a protein (Ma2) that was recognized by serum from the 10 patients, but not by serum from 344 control subjects. Ma2 was selectively expressed by normal brain tissue and by the testicular tumors of the patients. Ma2 shares homology with Ma1, a "brain-testis-cancer" gene related to other para-neoplastic syndromes and tumors.