SYT8 - Synaptotagmin 8

This gene encodes a member of the synaptotagmin protein family. Synaptotagmins are membrane proteins that are important in neurotransmission and hormone secretion, both of which involve regulated exocytosis. Expression of the encoded protein in human pancreatic islets has been connected to activity of the promoter for the insulin gene, on the same chromosome several hundred kilobases away (PMID: 21336277 and 22928559). This association would link response to gluclose to insulin secretion. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms. [provided by RefSeq, Mar 2014]