X Antigen Family, Member 2 (XAGE2)

XAGE2 is a member of the XAGE subfamily, which belongs to the GAGE family. The GAGE genes are expressed in a variety of tumors and in some fetal and reproductive tissues. This gene is strongly expressed in normal testis, and in Ewing's sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, a breast cancer and a germ cell tumor. The protein encoded by this gene shares a sequence similarity with other GAGE/PAGE proteins. Because of the expression pattern and the sequence similarity, this protein also belongs to a family of CT (cancer-testis) antigens.Using a computer-based screening strategy, Brinkmann et al. (1999) cloned XAGE2. The deduced 111-amino acid protein is closely related to XAGE3 and XAGE1D. XAGE2 sequences were contained within ESTs from fetal liver and spleen, placenta, uterus, fetal heart, breast tumor, and bone sarcoma libraries.