Background: MAP1A is one of the founding members of the MAP (microtubule-associated protein) family of proteins involved in microtubule assembly. MAP1A is almost exclusively expressed in the mature brain and is important to dendrite formation. MAP1A is processed by proteolytic cleavage that leads to the generation of a MAP1A heavy chain of 350 kDa and a LC2 light chain of 28 kDa. Both the heavy and light chain have been shown to bind microtubules as well as a number of other proteins that play a role in synapse formation.