Family With Sequence Similarity 58, Member B (FAM58B)

FAM58B is a 194 amino acid protein that is encoded by a gene which maps to chromosome 13. Comprising nearly 4% of human DNA, chromosome 13 contains around 114 million base pairs and 400 genes. Key tumor suppressor genes on chromosome 13 include the breast cancer susceptibility gene, BRCA2 and the RB1 (retinoblastoma) gene. RB1 encodes a crucial tumor suppressor protein which, when defective, leads to malignant growth in the retina and has been implicated in a variety of other cancers. Trisomy 13, also known as Patau syndrome, is quite deadly and the few who survive past one year suffer from permanent neurologic defects, difficulty eating and vulnerability to serious respiratory infections. The FAM38B gene product has been provisionally designated FAM38B pending further characterization.