Ankyrin Repeat Domain Protein 17 (ANKRD17)

ANKRD17 encodes a protein with ankyrin repeats, which are associated with protein-protein interactions. Studies in mice suggest that this protein is involved in liver development. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. As development proceeds the proportion of expressing cells decreases with expression in adult liver being restricted to a few sporadic cells. This therefore provides the earliest, most specific in situ marker of the hepatic lineage reported to date and will be useful in the further characterization of the inductive events involved in hepatic specification. Molecular characterization of the gene trap insertion suggests that the expression pattern is the result of alternative promoter use in the ankyrin repeat-containing gene, gtar.