NYAP_N is an N-terminal family of eukaryotic proteins that are substrates of tyrosine kinase in the brain. When first identified, the family members were referred to as unconventional myosin XVI, or Myr 8 [1]. However, proteins have now been identified as being integrally involved in neuronal function and morphogenesis. The family is involved in both the activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and the recruitment of the downstream effector WAVE complex to the close vicinity of PI3K; it also appears to regulate the brain size and neurite outgrowth in mice [2].

1: Myr 8, a novel unconventional myosin expressed during brain development associates with the protein phosphatase catalytic subunits 1alpha and 1gamma1. Patel KG, Liu C, Cameron PL, Cameron RS; J Neurosci. 2001;21:7954-7968. PMID:11588169

2: NYAP: a phosphoprotein family that links PI3K to WAVE1 signalling in neurons. Yokoyama K, Tezuka T, Kotani M, Nakazawa T, Hoshina N, Shimoda Y, Kakuta S, Sudo K, Watanabe K, Iwakura Y, Yamamoto T; EMBO J. 2011;30:4739-4754. PMID:21946561