Complement Component 1, Q Subcomponent Like Protein 4 (C1qL4)

C1QL4 Contains 1 C1q domain. Contains 1 collagen-like domain. The gene sequence encoding an N-terminal collagen stalk followed by a globular complement 1q domain (gC1q), an architecture that characterizes the C1q A, B and C chains of the first complement component (C1), did not become prevalent until the cephalochordates and urochordates. However, genes encoding only the globular complement 1q domain (ghC1q) are more ancient as they exist within many lower vertebrate and invertebrate genomes, and are even present in the prokaryotes. These genes can be divided into two groups, the first, which appears to be the more ancient form, encodes proteins that are not secreted (cghC1q). The second group encodes proteins in which the globular domain is preceded by a signal peptide indicating secretion (sghC1q).