Suprabasin-A Review.

Among the ~22,000 human genes, very few remain that have unknown functions. One such example is suprabasin (). Originally described as a component of the cornified envelope, the function of stratified epithelia-expressed is unknown. Both the lack of knowledge about the gene role under physiological conditions and the emerging link of to various human diseases, including cancer, attract research interest. The association of expression with poor prognosis of patients suffering from oesophageal carcinoma, glioblastoma multiforme, and myelodysplastic syndromes suggests that may play a role in human tumourigenesis. Three isoforms code for the secreted proteins with putative function as signalling molecules, yet with poorly described effects. In this first review about , we summarised the current knowledge accumulated since its original description, and we discuss the potential mechanisms and roles of in both physiology and pathology.