Synovial Sarcoma Translocation Gene On Chromosome 18 Like Protein 2 (SS18L2)

Synovial sarcomas occur most frequently in the extremities around large joints. More than 90% of cases have a recurrent and specific chromosomal translocation, in which the 5-prime end of the SS18 gene is fused in-frame to the 3-prime end of the SSX1, SSX2, or SSX4 gene. The SS18L2 gene is homologous to SS18.SS18L2 gene contains 3 exons, corresponding to the first 3 exons of the SS18 gene. The promoter region is TATA-less but contains a CAAT box and CpG islands, suggesting that SS18L2 is a housekeeping gene.

Thaete et al. (1999) identified cDNAs encoding SS18L1 and SS18L2, which they called SYT homolog-1 and -2, respectively. De Bruijn et al. (2001) stated that the SS18L2 protein contains 77 amino acids. RT-PCR analysis detected ubiquitous expression of SS18L2.