Fragile X Mental Retardation 1 Neighbor (FMR1NB)

Cancer-testis (CT) antigens represent ideal candidates for tumor-specific therapy due to their inherent immunogenicity and exceptional tissue restriction. Despite these advantageous properties the development of targeted therapeutics has been hampered by their predominantly intracellular localization. CT antigen FMR1NB might represent a promising exception due to its predicted transmembrane topology. FMR1NB mRNA was expressed in AML cell lines and patient samples and confirmed by western blot on the protein level. Specificity was confirmed by the lack of FMR1NB expression in healthy tissues. FMR1NB mRNA is specifically expressed in AML cells and the resulting protein localizes to the membrane compartment including the plasma membrane. A putative extracellular domain of over 100aa length of the protein can be detected using FMR1NB-specific antibodies.