Cytoplasmic linker protein of 170 kDa (CLIP-170) is the original member of a group of microtuble binding proteins designated as plus-end-binding proteins(+TIPs). CLIP-170 binds to the growing plus ends of microtubules and acts as a linker between the dynamic microtubule ends and organelle membranes. The protein acts as an anticatastrophic factor, promoting microtubule rescue near the cell periphery. Fluorescently labeled CLIP-170 can be visualized as a comet like streak around the growing ends of microtubules. CLIP-170 colocalizes with dynactin and dynein at microtubule ends and also at the kinetochore. Restin, first identified as a marker for Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells, is a 160 kDa splice variant of the gene that includes a 35 amino acid stretch not present in CLIP-170.
