| ID | Sequence | Length | GC content |
|---|---|---|---|
| AGAACCCCGCGGGGUCUGAGCAGCCCAGCGUGCCCAUUCCAGCGCCCGC… | 1780 nt | 0.6022 | |
| AGAACCCCGCGGGGUCUGAGCAGCCCAGCGUGCCCAUUCCAGCGCCCGC… | 1804 nt | 0.6042 | |
| AGAACCCCGCGGGGUCUGAGCAGCCCAGCGUGCCCAUUCCAGCGCCCGC… | 1989 nt | 0.5963 | |
| ACCUCCACUGUUGACAAACUUAGACAAAGCCCCGGGGACCGGGCUGGGC… | 2544 nt | 0.5939 | |
| AGAACCCCGCGGGGUCUGAGCAGCCCAGCGUGCCCAUUCCAGCGCCCGC… | 1936 nt | 0.5997 |
This gene encodes a preproprotein that is proteolytically processed to form multiple protein products. The major encoded protein product, lactadherin, is a membrane glycoprotein that promotes phagocytosis of apoptotic cells. This protein has also been implicated in wound healing, autoimmune disease, and cancer. Lactadherin can be further processed to form a smaller cleavage product, medin, which comprises the major protein component of aortic medial amyloid (AMA). Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2015]
A study in humans demonstrated that the MFGE8 was differentially expressed in astrocytes of alcohol-dependent individuals in the prefrontal cortex [Brenner et al. DOI:10.1093/Hmg/Ddaa038]. In primary rat microglia, alcohol exposure altered the expression of the MFGE8 mRNA, which is involved in phagocytosis regulation, and functional assays confirmed alcohol reduced phagocytic activity [Kalinin et al. DOI:10.1186/S12974-018-1184-7].