Ifitm1 - unique function to be determined?

For the Interferon induced transmembrane protein 1 (Ifitm1, fragilis2, mil-2, 9-27, Leu-13), a 17kDa protein, several putative functions have been suggested. These were either based on indirect experimental evidence or inferred from sequence or gene expression data. Among these is the idea of Ifitm1 as being regulated during an antitumoral, antiviral or antibacterial immune response. Several comparative gene expression analyses, mainly in human tissues, revealed alterations ofIfitm1 expression in various cancer types, including breast cancer, colorectal tumors, gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, ovarian carcinoma, head and neck cancer, pancreatic cancer and lung cancer, as well as in a form of schizophrenia and in Epstein-Barr virus related diseases. In addition, Ifitm1 was described as a marker read more...