Microfibrillar Associated Protein 1 (MFAP1)

Microfibrils with a diameter of 10 to 12 nm, found either in association with elastin or independently, are an important component of the extracellular matrix of many tissues. A main component is fibrillin (FBN), a 350-kD protein. FBN1, located on 15q, has been shown to be the site of mutations causing the Marfan syndrome ; FBN2, located on 5q, has been shown to be the site of mutations causing congenital contractural arachnodactyly . Microfibril-associated protein-2 is a 31-kD protein associated with microfibrils.MFAP1 included several splicing factors for which knockdown generates mitotic spindle defects. In addition, a putative nuclear-export terminator was found to speed up cell proliferation and mitotic progression after knockdown.