Fas Associated Factor 2 (FAF2)

FAF2 is highly expressed in peripheral blood of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), compared to normal individuals. It may play a role in regulating the resistance to apoptosis that is observed in T cells and eosinophils of AD patients.

Eosinophils from AD patients expressed ETEA at a significantly higher level than the healthy controls. The overall sequence of the 445 aa deduced polypeptide from the cloned ETEA cDNA showed homology to human Fas-associated factor 1 (FAF1), which is involved in Fas-mediated apoptosis. However, the interaction of ETEA with the Fas death domain was weaker than that of FAF1, as studied in yeast two-hybrid experiments. The ETEA-EGFP fusion protein was expressed in cytoplasm. The enhanced expression of ETEA may play a role in the regulating the resistance to apoptosis that is observed in T cells and eosinophils of AD patients.