Official Full Name

cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A

Background

The gene for CDK2NA generates several transcripts/proteins which differ from each other in their first exons. Three of these transcripts are generated by alternative splicing (isoform 1 a.k.a p16INK4A, isoform 2 and isoform 3 a.k.a p12), two of which are known to function as inhibitors of CDK4 kinase. One other transcript that is generated from this gene contains an alternate reading frame (ARF), with the first exon located 20kb upstream of the remainder of the gene(isoform 4 a.k.a. p14ARF, p19ARF, ARF). In spite of the structural and some functional differences, all the proteins encoded by the CDKN2A gene are involved in cell cycle G1 control.

Synonyms

CDKN2A; cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A; Arf; p16; MTS1; Pctr1; p19ARF; p16INK4a; p19; ARF-INK4a; INK4a-ARF; Ink4a/Arf; p16(INK4a); cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A, isoform 3; CDK4I; p16-INK4; p16-INK4a; mitochondrial smARF; cyclin-dependent kinase 4 inhibitor A; cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor protein; cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A, isoforms 1/2; cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (p16, inhibits CDK4); cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (melanoma, p16, inhibits CDK4); ARF tumor suppressor