Ectodysplasin A (EDA) is a trimeric type II membrane protein that co-localizes with cytoskeletal structures at the lateral and apical surfaces of cells. The encoded protein, which belongs to the tumor necrosis factor family, acts as a homotrimer and may be involved in cell-cell signaling during the development of ectodermal organs. EDA is expressed in hair follicles and in the epidermis of adult skin. Defects in this gene are a cause of ectodermal dysplasia, anhidrotic, which is also known as X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia.Several transcript variants encoding many different isoforms have been found for this gene.
