Probable phospholipid-transporting ATPase IC is an enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

 that in humans is encoded by the ATP8B1 gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

. This protein is associated with progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis

Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis

Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis refers to a group of familial cholestatic conditions caused by defects in biliary epithelial transporters. The clinical presentation usually occurs first in childhood with progressive cholestasis...

 type 1 as well as benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis.

Function

This gene encodes a member of the P-type cation transport ATPase family and specifically belongs to the subfamily of aminophospholipid-transporting ATPases. This protein is highly expressed in the small intestine, stomach, pancreas, and prostate and is also found in cholangiocytes

Cholangiocytes

Cholangiocytes are the epithelial cells of the bile duct. They are cuboidal epithelium in the small interlobular bile ducts, but become columnar and mucus secreting in larger bile ducts approaching the porta hepatis and the extrahepatic ducts....

 and the canalicular membranes of hepatocytes in the liver. The aminophospholipid translocases transport phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylethanolamine from one side of a bilayer to another. Mutations in this gene may result in progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 1 and in benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis. Exactly how mutations result in these diseases is not currently understood.