Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (DSCAM)

Promotes repulsion between particular neuronal processes of the same cell or the same subtype of cells. Mediates within retinal amacrine and ganglion cell subtypes both isoneuronal self-avoidance for creating an orderly dendritic arborization and heteroneuronal self-avoidance to maintain the mosaic spacing between amacrine and ganglion cell bodies (PubMed:10925149).

Receptor for netrin required for axon guidance independently of and in cooperation with the receptor DCC. In spinal chord growth plays a role in guiding commissural axons projection and pathfinding across the ventral midline to reach the floor plate upon ligand binding (PubMed:18585357, PubMed:19196994).