Functions of NR4A Receptor Subfamily

The members of the NR4A subfamily are expressed, mostly at low levels, in a wide variety of metabolically demanding and energy-dependent tissues, such as skeletal musde, adipose tissue, heart, kidney, T cells, liver and brain [20-25], They are, however, expressed at very high levels in a range of cell types when cells are 

Nuclear Receptors as Drug Targets. Edited by Eckhard Ottow and Hilmar Weinmann Copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA, Weinheim ISBN 978-3-527-31872-8 

NR4A2 is mainly expressed within the central nervous system (CNS) during development and in adult mice and rats. Expression is limited to several brain areas including the cortex, ventral midbrain, brain stem and the spinal cord [5, 28]. NR4A2 expression is detected as early as embryonic day 10.5 in the ventral midbrain in developing dopamine (DA) neurons [29, 30] and expression in these cells continues into adulthood. 

NR4A1 nullizygous mice have no discernible phenotype and display no abnormalities in hypothalamic regulation, pituitary fundion, adrenal steroidogenesis [53], and in thymic and peripheral T cell death [54], indicating a functional redundancy among NR4A nuclear receptors. 

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