NODAL, Official Symbol NODALprovided by HGNC Official Full Name nodal growth differentiation factorprovided by HGNC Primary source HGNC:HGNC:7865 See related Ensembl:ENSG00000156574 MIM:601265; AllianceGenome:HGNC:7865 Gene type protein coding RefSeq status REVIEWED Organism Homo sapiens Lineage Eukaryota; Metazoa; Chordata; Craniata; Vertebrata; Euteleostomi; Mammalia; Eutheria; Euarchontoglires; Primates; Haplorrhini; Catarrhini; Hominidae; Homo Also known as HTX5 Summary This gene encodes a secreted ligand of the TGF-beta (transforming growth factor-beta) superfamily of proteins. Ligands of this family bind various TGF-beta receptors leading to recruitment and activation of SMAD family transcription factors that regulate gene expression. The encoded preproprotein is proteolytically processed to generate the mature protein, which regulates early embryonic development. This protein is required for maintenance of human embryonic stem cell pluripotency and may play a role in human placental development. Mutations in this gene are associated with heterotaxy, a condition characterized by random orientation of visceral organs with respect to the left-right axis. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2016] Expression Low expression observed in reference dataset See more Orthologs mouse all