Ucma - upper zone of growth plate and cartilage matrix associated

This gene encodes chondrocyte-specific, highly charged proteins that are abundantly expressed during the early stages of chondrogenesis. The encoded protein undergoes proteolytic processing to generate a mature protein that is secreted into the extracellular matrix. The glutamic acid residues in the encoded protein undergo gamma carboxylation in a vitamin K-dependent manner. Despite the implied role in calcification and ossification, mice lacking the encoded protein do not display significant defects in the skeletal development. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms that may undergo a similar proteolytic processing to generate mature proteins. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2015]