This protein is a member of the keratin-associated protein (KAP) family. The KAP proteins form a matrix of keratin intermediate filaments which contribute to the structure of hair fibers. KAP family members appear to have unique, family-specific amino- and carboxyl-terminal regions and are subdivided into three multi-gene families according to amino acid composition: the high sulfur, the ultrahigh sulfur, and the high tyrosine/glycine KAPs. This protein is a member of the ultrahigh sulfur KAP family and the gene is localized to a cluster of KAPs at 17q12-q21. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]. Sequence Note: The RefSeq transcript and protein were derived from genomic sequence to make the sequence consistent with the reference genome assembly. The genomic coordinates used for the transcript record were based on alignments.
Function: In the hair cortex, hair keratin intermediate filaments are embedded in an interfilamentous matrix, consisting of hair keratin-associated proteins (KRTAP), which are essential for the formation of a rigid and resistant hair shaft through their extensive disulfide bond cross-linking with abundant cysteine residues of hair keratins. The matrix proteins include the high-sulfur and high-glycine-tyrosine keratins.