Pard6a - par-6 family cell polarity regulator alpha

The protein encoded by this gene is a component of the partitioning defective complex, a protein complex involved in controlling epithelial cell polarity as well as other cell processes. In rat testis cells, the protein localizes to the apical ectoplasmic specialization at the Sertoli-elongating spermatid interface and at the blood-testis barrier. Accordingly, knockdown of this gene in Sertoli cell epithelia results in compromised blood-testis barrier integrity. Knockdown of this gene in various neuronal cell types results in a variety of phenotypes including abnormal dendritic spine morphogenesis and defective axon outgrowth to the spinal midline. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Mar 2015]