This family is a mixtrue of two different families of eukaryotic proteins. Trichoplein or mitostatin, was first defined as a meiosis-specific nuclear structural protein. It has since been linked with mitochondrial movement. It is associated with the mitochondrial outer membrane, and over-expression leads to reduction in mitochondrial motility whereas lack of it enhances mitochondrial movement. The activity appears to be mediated through binding the mitochondria to the actin intermediate filaments (IFs) [1]. The family is in the trichohyalin-plectin-homology domain [2].

1: MITOSTATIN, a putative tumor suppressor on chromosome 12q24.1, is downregulated in human bladder and breast cancer. Vecchione A, Fassan M, Anesti V, Morrione A, Goldoni S, Baldassarre G, Byrne D, D'Arca D, Palazzo JP, Lloyd J, Scorrano L, Gomella LG, Iozzo RV, Baffa R; Oncogene. 2009;28:257-269. PMID:18931701

2: Identification of trichoplein, a novel keratin filament-binding protein. Nishizawa M, Izawa I, Inoko A, Hayashi Y, Nagata K, Yokoyama T, Usukura J, Inagaki M; J Cell Sci. 2005;118:1081-1090. PMID:15731013