Description
This gene encodes a subunit of the coagulation factor fibrinogen, which is a component of the blood clot. The encoded protein is proteolytically processed by thrombin during the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin. Mice lacking the encoded protein display bleeding in the peritoneal cavity, skin and soft tissues around joints immediately after birth, and are predisposed to spontaneous fatal abdominal hemorrhage as they grow. Pregnant mice lacking the encoded protein succumb to uterine bleeding during gestation. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms that may undergo similar proteolytic processing