ADAM11
ADAM11 is a catalytically inactive ADAM whose zinc-binding motif has been lost, so it functions through adhesion rather than proteolysis. Expression is concentrated in the brain and testis, setting it apart from the inflammatory and sheddase members of the family. Targeted disruption of Adam11 in mice impairs auditory function, pointing to a role in the inner ear or auditory pathway, and the protein has also been examined in studies of neuronal development. Recombinant ADAM11 is mainly used as a research reagent to probe adhesion-mediated signaling in neural tissues. Sequence comparisons place ADAM11 near ADAM12 and ADAM19 in family phylogenies, yet its degenerate catalytic site makes it functionally distinct from these active sheddases.
