BCAN Gene

HGNC Family	Immunoglobulin superfamily domain containing, Proteoglycans
Name	brevican
Description	This gene encodes a member of the lectican family of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans that is specifically expressed in the central nervous system. This protein is developmentally regulated and may function in the formation of the brain extracellular matrix. This protein is highly expressed in gliomas and may promote the growth and cell motility of brain tumor cells. Alternate splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Sep 2011]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Brevican (BCAN) is a central nervous system–specific chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan that constitutes a key component of the perineuronal nets and the perisynaptic extracellular matrix. In the normal brain, BCAN plays a critical role in stabilizing synaptic architecture and modulating plasticity—for example, contributing to the maintenance of long‐term potentiation and ensuring rapid signal transmission at specialized structures such as the calyx of Held and nodes of Ranvier."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "1", "end_ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Proteolytic processing of BCAN by members of the ADAMTS family markedly alters its functions. Cleavage by these enzymes generates fragments that can promote cell adhesion and activate growth‐related signaling pathways—effects that, in the context of glioma, enhance tumor cell invasion."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "4", "end_ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Extracellular matrix modulators such as decorin further influence BCAN levels, thereby affecting scar formation and axon growth inhibition after injury."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "7"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Aberrant expression patterns and epigenetic modifications of BCAN have been associated with tumor progression. In glioblastoma and certain breast cancers, both BCAN hypermethylation and the appearance of glioma‐specific isoforms have been observed, suggesting that BCAN may serve as a useful diagnostic marker as well as a potential therapeutic target."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "8", "end_ref": "10"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Moreover, BCAN interacts with other extracellular matrix components—such as aquaporin-4 and hyaluronan-binding link proteins—to help establish diffusion barriers that are critical for effective neuronal conductivity."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "11"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Collectively, these multifaceted roles underscore BCAN’s importance in regulating synaptic integrity, controlling neural plasticity, and modulating tumor invasiveness within the central nervous system."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "13"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cord Brakebusch, Constanze I Seidenbecher, Fredrik Asztely, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Brevican-deficient mice display impaired hippocampal CA1 long-term potentiation but show no obvious deficits in learning and memory."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Cell Biol (2002)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1128/MCB.22.21.7417-7427.2002"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1128/MCB.22.21.7417-7427.2002"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12370289"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12370289"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yoko Bekku, Lýdia Vargová, Yoshinobu Goto, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Bral1: its role in diffusion barrier formation and conduction velocity in the CNS."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Neurosci (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5598-09.2010"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5598-09.2010"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20181608"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20181608"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Maren Blosa, Mandy Sonntag, Carsten Jäger, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The extracellular matrix molecule brevican is an integral component of the machinery mediating fast synaptic transmission at the calyx of Held."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Physiol (2015)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1113/JP270849"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1113/JP270849"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "26223835"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26223835"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Gui Gao, Jennifer Westling, Vivian P Thompson, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Activation of the proteolytic activity of ADAMTS4 (aggrecanase-1) by C-terminal truncation."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2002)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M107443200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M107443200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "11796708"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11796708"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mitsutoshi Nakada, Hisashi Miyamori, Daisuke Kita, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Human glioblastomas overexpress ADAMTS-5 that degrades brevican."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Acta Neuropathol (2005)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1007/s00401-005-1032-6"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-005-1032-6"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16133547"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16133547"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Bin Hu, Leopold L Kong, Russell T Matthews, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The proteoglycan brevican binds to fibronectin after proteolytic cleavage and promotes glioma cell motility."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M801433200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M801433200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18611854"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18611854"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jeannette E Davies, Xiufeng Tang, Jeremy W Denning, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Decorin suppresses neurocan, brevican, phosphacan and NG2 expression and promotes axon growth across adult rat spinal cord injuries."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Eur J Neurosci (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1111/j.1460-9568.2004.03184.x"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-9568.2004.03184.x"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15016081"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15016081"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Marta Faryna, Carolin Konermann, Sebastian Aulmann, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Genome-wide methylation screen in low-grade breast cancer identifies novel epigenetically altered genes as potential biomarkers for tumor diagnosis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "FASEB J (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1096/fj.12-209502"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.12-209502"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22930747"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22930747"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 9, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mariano S Viapiano, Wenya Linda Bi, Joseph Piepmeier, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Novel tumor-specific isoforms of BEHAB/brevican identified in human malignant gliomas."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cancer Res (2005)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-05-0585"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-05-0585"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16061654"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16061654"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 10, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Xinlong Ma, Koji Yoshimoto, Yaulei Guan, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Associations between microRNA expression and mesenchymal marker gene expression in glioblastoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Neuro Oncol (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1093/neuonc/nos145"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1093/neuonc/nos145"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22844109"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22844109"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 11, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jacqueline A Hubbard, Mike S Hsu, Marcus M Seldin, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Expression of the Astrocyte Water Channel Aquaporin-4 in the Mouse Brain."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ASN Neuro (2015)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1177/1759091415605486"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1177/1759091415605486"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "26489685"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26489685"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 12, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yoko Bekku, Mai Saito, Markus Moser, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Bral2 is indispensable for the proper localization of brevican and the structural integrity of the perineuronal net in the brainstem and cerebellum."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Comp Neurol (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/cne.23009"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.23009"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22121037"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22121037"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 13, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "A Suttkus, S Rohn, S Weigel, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Aggrecan, link protein and tenascin-R are essential components of the perineuronal net to protect neurons against iron-induced oxidative stress."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell Death Dis (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/cddis.2014.25"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/cddis.2014.25"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24625978"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24625978"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	BEHAB, CSPG7
Proteins	PGCB_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	63827
API
Download Associations
Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

BCAN has 6,087 functional associations with biological entities spanning 8 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA) extracted from 117 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for BCAN from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

BCAN Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of BCAN gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of BCAN gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of BCAN gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of BCAN gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of BCAN gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of BCAN gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of BCAN gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of BCAN gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of BCAN gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of BCAN gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of BCAN gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of BCAN gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with BCAN gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of BCAN gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of BCAN gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of BCAN gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas	gene perturbations changing expression of BCAN gene from the CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of BCAN gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing BCAN protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing BCAN protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing BCAN protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing BCAN protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with BCAN protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with BCAN protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of BCAN gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with BCAN gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with BCAN gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with BCAN gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations	traits associated with BCAN gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by BCAN gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with BCAN gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with BCAN gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with BCAN gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with BCAN gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at BCAN gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of BCAN gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of BCAN gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing BCAN from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with BCAN gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with BCAN gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations dataset.