Visinin-like protein 1/VSNL1

Visinin-like protein 1 (VSNL1) is a small Calcium binding protein which is very abundant in the nervous system and is found only in neurons, though different neurons have different levels of expression (4, 5). It is particularly concentrated in cerebellar Purkinje cells, and tends to be most abundant in perikarya and dendrites. The protein was discovered independently by several groups and is therefore also sometimes known as hippocalcin-like protein 3, HLP3, HPCAL3, HUVISL1, VLP-1, VILIP and VILIP-1. The protein belongs to the large superfamly of calmodulin and paravalbumin type proteins which function by binding Calcium ions. Calcium binding alters the confomation of these proteins and allow them to interact with other binding partners, the properties of which they may alter. Visinin-like protein 1 has four "EF hand" domains, which are negatively charged helix-turn-helix peptides which are responsible for Calcium binding. Visinin-like protein 1 is 191 amino acids in size and has a molecular weight on SDS-PAGE of 22kDa.