J chain

JCHAIN
Identifiers
Aliases	JCHAIN, IGCJ, JCH, IGJ, J chain, joining chain of multimeric IgA and IgM
External IDs	OMIM: 147790; MGI: 96493; HomoloGene: 16958; GeneCards: JCHAIN; OMA:JCHAIN - orthologs
Gene location (Human)
Chr.	Chromosome 4 (human)
End	70,681,817 bp
Gene location (Mouse)
Chr.	Chromosome 5 (mouse)
End	88,675,750 bp
RNA expression pattern
	Top expressed in
	rectum; ; jejunal mucosa; ; mucosa of sigmoid colon; ; pylorus; ; cecum; ; mucosa of transverse colon; ; appendix; ; epithelium of nasopharynx; ; duodenum; ; trachea;
	Top expressed in
	submandibular gland; ; spleen; ; duodenum; ; jejunum; ; Paneth cell; ; lymph node; ; tibiofemoral joint; ; tunica adventitia of aorta; ; mesenteric lymph nodes; ; thymus;
	More reference expression data
	More reference expression data
Gene ontology
Molecular function	antigen binding; protein homodimerization activity; phosphatidylcholine binding; immunoglobulin receptor binding; single-stranded DNA binding; peptidoglycan binding; IgA binding; protein-macromolecule adaptor activity;
Cellular component	secretory IgA immunoglobulin complex; blood microparticle; hexameric IgM immunoglobulin complex; monomeric IgA immunoglobulin complex; dimeric IgA immunoglobulin complex; pentameric IgM immunoglobulin complex; secretory dimeric IgA immunoglobulin complex; extracellular exosome; extracellular region; extracellular space;
Biological process	adaptive immune response; retina homeostasis; glomerular filtration; immune response; innate immune response; positive regulation of respiratory burst; receptor-mediated endocytosis; positive regulation of protein oligomerization; leukocyte migration;
	Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
	3512
	16069
	ENSG00000132465
	ENSMUSG00000067149
	P01591
	P01592
	NM_144646
	NM_152839
	NP_653247
	NP_690052
	Wikidata
View/Edit Human	View/Edit Mouse

The Joining (J) chain is a protein component that links monomers of antibodies IgM and IgA to form polymeric antibodies capable of secretion. The J chain is well conserved in the animal kingdom, but its specific functions are yet to be fully understood. It is a 137 residue polypeptide, encoded by the IGJ gene.