Peroxisomal membrane protein PEX16 is a protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 that in humans is encoded by the PEX16 gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

.

Function

The protein encoded by this gene is an integral peroxisomal membrane protein. An inactivating nonsense mutation localized to this gene was observed in a patient with Zellweger syndrome of the complementation group CGD/CG9. Expression of this gene product morphologically and biochemically restores the formation of new peroxisomes, suggesting a role in peroxisome organization and biogenesis. Alternative splicing has been observed for this gene and two variants have been described.

External Links

• GeneReviews/NCBI/NIH/UW entry on Peroxisome Biogenesis Disorders, Zellweger Syndrome Spectrum
• OMIM entries on Peroxisome Biogenesis Disorders, Zellweger Syndrome Spectrum