Transmembrane Protease, Serine 4 (TMPRSS4)

TMPRSS4 encodes a member of the serine protease family. Serine proteases are known to be involved in a variety of biological processes, whose malfunction often leads to human diseases and disorders. This gene was identified as a gene overexpressed in pancreatic carcinoma. The encoded protein is membrane bound with a N-terminal anchor sequence and a glycosylated extracellular region containing the serine protease domain. Multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene.A weak TMPRSS4 signal was detected in normal tissues of the gastrointestinal tract and in some of the urogenital tract but was not expressed in any other normal tissues. The authors suggested that TMPRSS4 may be important in processes involved in metastasis formation and tumor invasion.