Description
The tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases(TIMPs) inhibit matrix metalloproteinases(MMPs), a group of peptidases involved in degradation of the extracellular matrix. TIMP4 gene contains 5 exons that span 6 kb of genomic DNA. The gene is expressed as a 1.4-kb transcript abundant in heart and present at low levels in several other tissues. Expressed TIMP4 inhibits MMPs in vitro. TIMP4 gene is mapped to chromosome 3p25. TIMP-4 binds both progelatinase A and the C domain in a similar manner to that of TIMP-2