Metalloproteinase inhibitor 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TIMP3 gene. [5] [6]
This gene belongs to the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases gene family. The proteins encoded by this gene family are inhibitors of the matrix metalloproteinases, a group of peptidases involved in degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Expression of this gene is induced in response to mitogenic stimulation and this netrin domain-containing protein is localized to the ECM. Mutations in this gene have been associated with the autosomal dominant disorder Sorsby's fundus dystrophy. [7]