Col4a1 - collagen, type IV, alpha 1

This gene encodes the alpha-1 subunit of the type IV collagens, an essential component of basement membranes. The encoded protein forms a triple helical heterotrimer comprised of two alpha-1 and one alpha-2 subunits that assembles into a type IV collagen network. This gene is located adjacent to the gene encoding alpha-2 subunit. Mice lacking both the alpha-1 and alpha-2 subunits of collagen IV die in utero due to structural deficiencies in the basement membranes and certain mutations in this gene cause perinatal cerebral hemorrhage and porencephaly. Alternative splicing of this gene results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Nov 2015]