This gene encodes a member of the ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motif) protein family. Members of the family share several distinct protein modules, including a propeptide region, a metalloproteinase domain, a disintegrin-like domain, and a thrombospondin type 1 (TS) motif. Individual members of this family differ in the number of C-terminal TS motifs, and some have unique C-terminal domains. The protein encoded by this gene has high sequence similarity to the protein encoded by ADAMTS16, another family member. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].