Human TROP-2, also called tumor associated calcium signal transducer 2 (TACSTD2), GA733-1, gp50 and T16, is a type I cell surface glycoprotein that is highly expressed on human carcinomas. It was originally identified as an antigen present on human gastrointestinal tumors and is the second of two members of this family. The other family member is GA733-2, also called EpCAM, TROP-1, 17-1A, gp40 and KSA. The TROP-2 gene is unique in that it contains no introns. A study of these two genes suggested that TROP-2 was the result of a retroposition of the EpCAM gene. TROP-2 and EpCAM share approximately 49% amino acid identity and approximately 67% similarity. Human and mouse TROP-2 share 87% similarity. The human TROP-2 protein consists of a putative 26 amino acid (aa) signal sequence, a 248 aa extracellular domain, a 23 aa transmembrane region and a 26 aa cytoplasmic domain. TROP-2 is capable of transducing an intracellular calcium signal and may play a role in tumor growth. It also has adhesive functions.