FK506 Binding Protein 6 (FKBP6)

FKBP6 shows structural homology to FKBP immunophilins, which bind to the immunosuppressants FK506 and rapamycin.FKBP6 is essential for homologous chromosome pairing in meiosis during spermatogenesis. Targeted inactivation of FKBP6 in mice results in infertile males, but apparently normal females.The FKBP6 gene has 9 exons and is oriented in a 5-prime to 3-prime direction from centromere to telomere. FKBP6 is completely contained within a 35-kb cosmid; the DNA corresponding to the insert of this cosmid was deleted in 40 of 40 WBS individuals. The predicted 327-amino acid FKBP6 protein shows structural homology to FKBP immunophilins, which are cellular receptors for the immunosuppressive drugs FK506 and rapamycin.