CLIP170 was initially identified as a new type of intermediate filament associated protein that is highly expressed in Reed-Sternberg cells, the tumoral cells diagnostic for Hodgkin’s disease. Later experiments showed that it is located at microtubule plus ends and is required for the binding of endocytic carrier vesicles. CLIP170 has also been suggested to act with LIS1, a protein implicated in brain development, to regulate dynein/dynactin binding microtubules. Other studies suggest that CLIP170 can influence the formation of lamellipodia and cell invasion by invasive breast cancer cells by regulating the release of kinesin and IQGAP1 from a complex of those proteins, CLIP170 and Rac1. At least two isoforms of CLIP170 are known to exist.
