TIMP-1

TIMP metallopeptidase inhibitor 1 is also known as TIMP1, a tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases, is a glycoprotein that is expressed from the several tissues of organisms. This protein a member of the TIMP family.There are four members of the family, TIMP1,TIMP2,TIMP3 and TIMP4. TIMP1 is a glycoprotein with a molecular mass of 28 kDa produced by a wide range of cell types. The glycoprotein is a natural inhibitor of the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a group of peptidases involved in degradation of the extracellular matrix. In addition to its inhibitory role against most of the known MMPs, the encoded protein is able to promote cell proliferation in a wide range of cell types, and may also have an anti-apoptotic function. Transcription of this gene is highly inducible in response to many cytokines and hormones. In addition, the expression from some but not all inactive X chromosomes suggests that this gene inactivation is polymorphic in human females. This gene is located within intron 6 of the synapsin I gene and is transcribed in the opposite direction.