Polycystic Kidney Disease 1 Protein (PKD1)

Polycystin-1 is a member of the polycystin protein family. The encoded glycoprotein contains a large N-terminal extracellular region, multiple transmembrane domains and a cytoplasmic C-tail. It may function as an integral membrane protein involved in cell-cell/matrix interactions, and may modulate intracellular calcium homoeostasis and other signal-transduction pathways. It plays a role in renal tubular development, and mutations in this gene have been associated with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Splice variants encoding different isoforms have been noted for this gene. Also, six pseudogenes, closely linked in a known duplicated region on chromosome 16p, have been described.