human: Ankyrins are a family of proteins that are believed to link the integral membrane proteins to the underlying spectrin-actin cytoskeleton and play key roles in activities such as cell motility, activation, proliferation, contact, and the maintenance of specialized membrane domains. Multiple isoforms of ankyrin with different affinities for various target proteins are expressed in a tissue-specific, developmentally regulated manner. Most ankyrins are typically composed of three structural domains: an amino-terminal domain containing multiple ankyrin repeats; a central region with a highly conserved spectrin binding domain; and a carboxy-terminal regulatory domain which is the least conserved and subject to variation. Ankyrin 3 is an immunologically distinct gene product from ankyrins 1 and 2, and was originally found at the axonal initial segment and nodes of Ranvier of neurons in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Alternatively spliced variants may be expressed in other tissues. Although multiple transcript variants encoding several different isoforms have been found for this gene, the full-length nature of only two have been characterized. [provided by RefSeq] 

mouse: This gene encodes a member of the ankyrin protein family. Ankyrins link integral membrane proteins to the spectrin-based Ankyrins link integral membrane proteins to the spectrin-based cytoskeleton. Ankyrin family members share a protein structure which includes three independently folded domains: the N-terminal ankyrin repeat domain, the central spectrin-binding domain, and the C-terminal rod domain. This ankyrin functions as the major ankyrin in the kidney and may play a role in the polarized distribution of many integral membrane proteins to specific subcellular sites. Alternative splicing of this gene results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms.