Members of the trefoil family are characterized by having at least one copy of the trefoil motif, a 40-amino acid domain that contains three conserved disulfides. They are stable secretory proteins expressed in gastrointestinal mucosa. Their functions are not defined, but they may protect the mucosa from insults, stabilize the mucus layer, and affect healing of the epithelium. This gene, which is expressed in the gastric mucosa, has also been studied because of its expression in human tumors. This gene and two other related trefoil family member genes are found in a cluster on chromosome 21.
Categories
Primary Antibodies
Clonality
polyclonal
Description
TFF1 (formerly known as pS2) is a small-secreted protein that belongs to the family of trefoil peptides, and characterized by the presence of one to six cysteine-rich P domains. TFF1 expression is frequently lost in gastric carcinoma, probably through mechanism of DNA methylation, and it is therefore considered as a tumor suppressor gene. The function of TFF1 was first controversially considered as an oncogene in breast cancer.