NSMF/NELF/Jacob is a synaptic and a nuclear protein with two putative zinc fingers. The activation of NMDA receptors induces the NELF recruitment to neuronal nuclei, resulting in a rapid stripping of synaptic contacts. In brain NELF binds to importin-alpha through its bipartite nuclear localization signal (NLS) region. It also binds caldendrin, a neuronal Ca2+ sensor (NCS) protein, in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Caldendrin binding can mask the bipartite NLS of Jacob in competition with Importin-alpha and thereby prevent its nuclear trafficking []. NELF has been implicated in gonadotropin-releasing hormone 3 neuronal migration and the developmental function of the reproductive axis [, , ], and in myoblast proliferation [].
