Crkl - v-crk avian sarcoma virus CT10 oncogene homolog-like Gene

This gene is part of a family of adapter proteins that mediate formation of signal transduction complexes in response to extracellular stimuli, such as growth and differentiation factors. Protein-protein interactions occur through the SH2 domain, which binds phosphorylated tyrosine residues, and the SH3 domain, which binds proline-rich peptide motifs. These interactions promote recruitment and activation of effector proteins to regulate cell migration, adhesion, and proliferation. In certain mouse genetic backgrounds this protein is essential for embryonic development. It is important for neural crest cell differentiation and survival and is proposed to play an important role in transducing the oncogenic signal of Bcr/Abl. Deletion of this gene in mouse mimics the phenotype of DiGeorge/velocardiofacial syndrome in human. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants that encode different protein isoforms. [provided by RefSeq, Mar 2013]