CD44

CD44 molecule (Indian blood group)
PDB rendering based on 1poz.
Available structures: 1poz, 1uuh, 2i83
Identifiers
Symbol(s)	CD44; CDW44; CSPG8; ECMR-III; HCELL; IN; LHR; MC56; MDU2; MDU3; MGC10468; MIC4; MUTCH-I; Pgp1
External IDs	OMIM: 107269 MGI: 88338 Homologene: 508
Gene Ontology Molecular Function: • molecular_function • receptor activity • collagen binding • hyaluronic acid binding Cellular Component: • cellular_component • integral to plasma membrane • external side of plasma membrane • membrane Biological Process: • ureteric bud branching • cell adhesion • cell-matrix adhesion • cell-cell adhesion
RNA expression pattern
Additional recommended knowledge Essential Laboratory Skills Guide Don't let static charges disrupt your weighing accuracy Weighing the right way More reference expression data
Orthologs
	Human	Mouse
Entrez	960	12505
Ensembl	ENSG00000026508	ENSMUSG00000005087
Uniprot	P16070	P15379
Refseq	NM_000610 (mRNA) NP_000601 (protein)	NM_001039150 (mRNA) NP_001034239 (protein)
Location	Chr 11: 35.12 - 35.21 Mb	Chr 2: 102.61 - 102.7 Mb
Pubmed search	[1]	[2]

The CD44 protein is a cell-surface glycoprotein involved in cell-cell interactions, cell adhesion and migration. It is a receptor for hyaluronic acid and can also interact with other ligands, such as osteopontin, collagens, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs).

This protein participates in a wide variety of cellular functions including lymphocyte activation, recirculation and homing, hematopoiesis, and tumor metastasis. Transcripts for this gene undergo complex alternative splicing that results in many functionally distinct isoforms, however, the full length nature of some of these variants has not been determined. Alternative splicing is the basis for the structural and functional diversity of this protein, and may be related to tumor metastasis. Gene transcription is at least in part activated by beta catenin and Wnt signalling (also linked to tumour development). The protein is a determinant for the Indian blood group system.

• CD44, along with CD25, is used to track early T cell development in the thymus.

• CD44 expression is an indicative marker for effector-memory T-cells. It is tracked with CFSE chemical tagging.

CD44 found on breast and prostate cancer stem cells.^[1]

References

Further reading

• [3] Articles at IHOP.