FETUB

gene
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Summary

FETUB (fetuin B, HGNC:3658) is a protein-coding gene on chromosome 3q27.3, encoding Fetuin-B (Q9UGM5). Protease inhibitor required for egg fertilization.

The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the fetuin family, part of the cystatin superfamily of cysteine protease inhibitors. Fetuins have been implicated in several diverse functions, including osteogenesis and bone resorption, regulation of the insulin and hepatocyte growth factor receptors, and response to systemic inflammation. This protein may be secreted by cells.

Source: NCBI Gene 26998 — RefSeq curated summary.

At a glance

  • GWAS associations: 7
  • Clinical variants (ClinVar): 74 total
  • MANE Select transcript: NM_014375

Identifiers

Gene identifiers

FieldValue
HGNC IDHGNC:3658
Approved symbolFETUB
Namefetuin B
Location3q27.3
Locus typegene with protein product
StatusApproved
Ensembl geneENSG00000090512
Ensembl biotypeprotein_coding
OMIM605954
Entrez26998

Gene structure

Transcript identifiers

Ensembl transcripts: 17 — 14 protein_coding, 2 nonsense_mediated_decay, 1 protein_coding_CDS_not_defined

ENST00000265029, ENST00000382134, ENST00000382136, ENST00000420570, ENST00000431018, ENST00000435961, ENST00000450521, ENST00000488561, ENST00000898652, ENST00000898653, ENST00000898654, ENST00000898655, ENST00000898656, ENST00000898657, ENST00000898658, ENST00000898659, ENST00000898660

RefSeq mRNA: 9 — MANE Select: NM_014375 NM_001308077, NM_001308079, NM_001375587, NM_001375588, NM_001375589, NM_001375590, NM_001375591, NM_001375592, NM_014375

CCDS: CCDS3279, CCDS77871, CCDS82884

Canonical transcript exons

ENST00000265029 — 7 exons

ExonStartEnd
ENSE00001140642186640399186640685
ENSE00001177785186652263186653141
ENSE00003554385186651218186651301
ENSE00003586111186641030186641140
ENSE00003622550186644751186644920
ENSE00003623640186642471186642558
ENSE00003676295186646248186646349

Expression profiles

Bgee: expression breadth ubiquitous, 102 present calls, max score 95.17.

FANTOM5 (CAGE): breadth tissue_specific, TPM avg 0.6773 / max 285.5796, expressed in 41 samples.

FANTOM5 promoters (6 alternative TSS)

Promoter IDTPM avgSamples expressed
402830.496124
402800.078116
402840.069814
402810.01795
402850.01195
402820.00352

Top tissues by expression

272 total, by Bgee expression score (0-100, higher = more expressed):

TissueAnatomy IDExpression scoreQuality
right lobe of liverUBERON:000111495.17gold quality
male germ line stem cell (sensu Vertebrata) in testisCL:0000089 ∩ UBERON:000047394.12gold quality
liverUBERON:000210791.82gold quality
lower esophagus mucosaUBERON:003583479.06gold quality
skin of abdomenUBERON:000141669.06gold quality
skin of legUBERON:000151168.94gold quality
frontal poleUBERON:000279567.04gold quality
paraflocculusUBERON:000535166.75gold quality
middle frontal gyrusUBERON:000270266.74gold quality
oral cavityUBERON:000016766.44gold quality
esophagus mucosaUBERON:000246966.39gold quality
zone of skinUBERON:000001465.28gold quality
Brodmann (1909) area 10UBERON:001354162.53gold quality
endometrium epitheliumUBERON:000481161.37gold quality
pharyngeal mucosaUBERON:000035556.81gold quality
cerebellar vermisUBERON:000472056.27gold quality
esophagus squamous epitheliumUBERON:000692056.27silver quality
penisUBERON:000098955.89gold quality
vaginaUBERON:000099654.02gold quality
rectumUBERON:000105252.82gold quality
thymusUBERON:000237052.55gold quality
quadriceps femorisUBERON:000137751.57gold quality
vastus lateralisUBERON:000137951.04gold quality
metanephrosUBERON:000008150.32gold quality
hair follicleUBERON:000207350.23gold quality
Brodmann (1909) area 46UBERON:000648349.30gold quality
blood vessel layerUBERON:000479749.29gold quality
cervix squamous epitheliumUBERON:000692249.20gold quality
layer of synovial tissueUBERON:000761648.99gold quality
olfactory bulbUBERON:000226448.92gold quality

Single-cell (SCXA)

Detected in 1 experiment(s), a significant marker in 1.

ExperimentMarker?Max mean expression
E-ANND-3yes2.78

Regulation

Is transcription factor: no

Upstream regulators (CollecTRI, top): NR1H4

miRNA regulators (miRDB)

13 targeting FETUB, top 30 by miRDB confidence (max_score; target_count = how many genes the miRNA targets in total — lower means more specific):

miRNAMax scoreAvg scoremiRNA target_count
HSA-MIR-6499-3P99.9066.381212
HSA-MIR-3934-3P99.7665.511351
HSA-MIR-466399.6265.33957
HSA-MIR-5584-5P99.4968.222814
HSA-MIR-429199.2068.882969
HSA-MIR-807799.1766.67862
HSA-MIR-7160-5P99.1167.172207
HSA-MIR-426698.5367.291035
HSA-MIR-93-3P98.1566.651309
HSA-MIR-466097.7967.441328
HSA-MIR-4786-5P97.4567.89924
HSA-MIR-873-3P96.8466.09786
HSA-MIR-128192.9665.73260

Literature-anchored findings (GeneRIF, showing 23)

  • serum fetuin has a role in processing and transport of matrix gamma-carboxyglutamic acid protein and bone morphogenetic protein-2 in cultured human vascular smooth muscle cells (PMID:15280384)
  • results support the hypothesis that fetuin-A serum levels are associated with bone cell activity (PMID:16797392)
  • Reduced expression of fetuin-b led to a significant increase in the expression of lipogenic genes, thereby resulting in higher lipid levels. (PMID:22739111)
  • Data indicate that fetuin-B was one of the highly expressed serum proteins in acute myocardial infarction. (PMID:25671698)
  • serum level of fetuin B in the control subjects was lower than it in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients. fetuin B correlated with diastolic blood pressure, serum alanine transaminase and triglycerides, among the controls. It suggested a potential association between serum fetuin B and the presence of NAFLD. (PMID:27628583)
  • Further studies need to elucidate factors contributing to fetuin B regulation in humans, as well as the pathophysiological significance of fetuin B upregulation in gestational diabetes (PMID:28183456)
  • fetuin B may serve as a potential biomarker for coronary artery disease (PMID:28822077)
  • Fetuin-A can alter insulin signaling and that fetuin-B may regulate glucose homeostasis via so far unknown effects, possibly on glucose effectiveness. (PMID:29138227)
  • Fetuin B serum concentrations are not significantly different between patients with lipodystrophy (LD) and non-LD controls. (PMID:29153939)
  • High Serum fetuin-B expression is associated with insulin resistance. (PMID:29194974)
  • Increased serum fetuin-B level was significantly associated with higher risk of insulin resistance. Common genetic variants of FETUB SNPs (rs4686434, rs6785067, and rs3733159) were significantly associated with serum fetuin-B concentrations but were not associated with insulin resistance. (PMID:29390354)
  • Patients with type 2 diabetes have significantly higher concentrations of plasma fetuin-B compared with normal glucose tolerance subjects and plasma fetuin-B is strongly associated with glucose and lipid metabolism, chronic inflammation and first-phase glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and insulin resistance. (PMID:29514765)
  • Fetuin-B links nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to type 2 diabetes (T2D) via inducing insulin resistance, and NAFLD contributes to the pathogenesis of T2D via multiple mechanisms. (PMID:29609136)
  • Carrying the minor G allele for FETUB rs4686434 was significantly associated with decreased intrahepatic triglyceride content and may affect hepatic triglyceride accumulation in individuals at high risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. (PMID:29671945)
  • High Fetuin B expression is associated with vitamin D deficiency and pediatric obesity. (PMID:29684480)
  • Serum fetuin-B level is an independent marker for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. (PMID:30601337)
  • Serum fetuin-B level is correlated with fertilization rate in conventional IVF and it may be used as a predictive marker of fertilization in IVF treatment. (PMID:31073723)
  • Association of Fetuin-B with Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Obese Chinese Adults. (PMID:31527322)
  • The C-terminal region of human plasma fetuin-B is dispensable for the raised-elephant-trunk mechanism of inhibition of astacin metallopeptidases. (PMID:31604990)
  • Fetuin-B regulates vascular plaque rupture via TGF-beta receptor-mediated Smad pathway in vascular smooth muscle cells. (PMID:32382986)
  • Fetuin B overexpression suppresses proliferation, migration, and invasion in prostate cancer by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. (PMID:32892030)
  • Hepatokine Fetuin B expression is regulated by leptin-STAT3 signalling and associated with leptin in obesity. (PMID:35896788)
  • Fetuin-B Overexpression Promotes Inflammation in Diabetic Retinopathy Through Activating Microglia and the NF-kappaB Signaling Pathway. (PMID:37883127)

Cross-species orthologs

4 orthologs

OrganismSymbolGene ID
danio_reriofetubENSDARG00000053973
danio_reriosi:ch211-284e20.8ENSDARG00000070918
mus_musculusFetubENSMUSG00000022871
rattus_norvegicusFetubENSRNOG00000001806

Paralogs (3): KNG1 (ENSG00000113889), HRG (ENSG00000113905), AHSG (ENSG00000145192)

Protein

Protein identifiers

Fetuin-BQ9UGM5 (reviewed: Q9UGM5)

Alternative names: 16G2, Fetuin-like protein IRL685, Gugu

All UniProt accessions (5): Q9UGM5, C9JC68, E9PG08, F8WAW1, F8WEP7

UniProt curated annotations — full annotation on UniProt →

Function. Protease inhibitor required for egg fertilization. Required to prevent premature zona pellucida hardening before fertilization, probably by inhibiting the protease activity of ASTL, a protease that mediates the cleavage of ZP2 and triggers zona pellucida hardening.

Subcellular location. Secreted.

Tissue specificity. Liver and testis.

Similarity. Belongs to the fetuin family.

Isoforms (2)

UniProt IDNamesCanonical?
Q9UGM5-11yes
Q9UGM5-22, Beta

RefSeq proteins (9): NP_001295006, NP_001295008, NP_001362516, NP_001362517, NP_001362518, NP_001362519, NP_001362520, NP_001362521, NP_055190* (*=MANE)

Domains & families (InterPro)

IDNameType
IPR000010Cystatin_domDomain
IPR001363Prot_inh_fetuin_CSConserved_site
IPR025764Cystatin_Fetuin_BDomain
IPR046350Cystatin_sfHomologous_superfamily
IPR050735Kininogen_Fetuin_HRGFamily

Pfam: PF00031

UniProt features (54 total): strand 16, helix 8, glycosylation site 5, disulfide bond 5, sequence conflict 5, sequence variant 3, compositionally biased region 3, domain 2, region of interest 2, signal peptide 1, chain 1, splice variant 1, turn 1, modified residue 1

Structure

Experimental structures (PDB)

2 structures.

PDBMethodResolution (Å)
7UAIELECTRON MICROSCOPY2.8
6SAZX-RAY DIFFRACTION3

Predicted structure (AlphaFold)

ModelpLDDTFraction very-high
AF-Q9UGM5-F181.920.59

Functional residue map

Curated UniProt residues grouped by drug-discovery relevance — catalytic, ligand-binding, modification, and mutation-validated positions. Source: UniProtKB sequence features.

Post-translational modifications (1): 315

Disulfide bonds (5): 93–104, 117–137, 151–154, 216–224, 237–254

Glycosylation sites (5): 37, 136, 182, 289, 292

Function

Pathways and Gene Ontology

Reactome pathways

0 pathways

MSigDB gene sets: 102 (showing top): GOBP_SINGLE_FERTILIZATION, GOBP_NEGATIVE_REGULATION_OF_PROTEOLYSIS, GOBP_NEGATIVE_REGULATION_OF_HYDROLASE_ACTIVITY, GNF2_HPN, GRAESSMANN_APOPTOSIS_BY_DOXORUBICIN_UP, GRAESSMANN_RESPONSE_TO_MC_AND_DOXORUBICIN_UP, GOBP_REGULATION_OF_HYDROLASE_ACTIVITY, GNF2_LCAT, GOBP_SPERM_EGG_RECOGNITION, CAIRO_HEPATOBLASTOMA_DN, MODULE_99, GOBP_REGULATION_OF_PEPTIDASE_ACTIVITY, GOBP_NEGATIVE_REGULATION_OF_MOLECULAR_FUNCTION, GOBP_NEGATIVE_REGULATION_OF_CATALYTIC_ACTIVITY, GOBP_NEGATIVE_REGULATION_OF_PROTEIN_METABOLIC_PROCESS

GO Biological Process (4): single fertilization (GO:0007338), binding of sperm to zona pellucida (GO:0007339), negative regulation of endopeptidase activity (GO:0010951), regulation of macromolecule metabolic process (GO:0060255)

GO Molecular Function (5): cysteine-type endopeptidase inhibitor activity (GO:0004869), metalloendopeptidase inhibitor activity (GO:0008191), enzyme inhibitor activity (GO:0004857), protein binding (GO:0005515), peptidase inhibitor activity (GO:0030414)

GO Cellular Component (3): extracellular region (GO:0005576), extracellular exosome (GO:0070062), obsolete extracellular space (GO:0005615)

GO top-level categories

Rollup of top GO terms by namespace:

CategoryTerms
endopeptidase inhibitor activity2
fertilization1
sperm-egg recognition1
endopeptidase activity1
negative regulation of peptidase activity1
regulation of endopeptidase activity1
regulation of metabolic process1
macromolecule metabolic process1
cysteine-type endopeptidase activity1
metalloendopeptidase activity1
catalytic activity1
enzyme regulator activity1
molecular function inhibitor activity1
binding1
enzyme inhibitor activity1
peptidase activity1
peptidase regulator activity1
cellular anatomical structure1
extracellular vesicle1

Protein interactions and networks

STRING

938 interactions, top by confidence (×1000):

Protein AProtein BPartner UniProtScore
FETUBASTLQ6HA08701
FETUBORM2P19652597
FETUBORM1P02763581
FETUBAHSGP02765570
FETUBAGAP20933560
FETUBEEA1Q15075549
FETUBMSR1P21757547
FETUBCETPP11597516
FETUBCOL1A2P02464503
FETUBALBP02768498
FETUBSERPINA7P05543496
FETUBKLK3P07288492
FETUBGGCTO75223431
FETUBRAB5AP20339425
FETUBFAM151AQ8WW52421

IntAct

19 interactions, top by confidence:

ABTypeScore
FETUBHSD17B13psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
FETUBDARS2psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
CREB3L1FETUBpsi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
HSD17B13FETUBpsi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
MTIF3FETUBpsi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
FETUBERGIC3psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
EBPFETUBpsi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
DARS2FETUBpsi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.560
FETUBCREB3L1psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.000
FETUBMTIF3psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.000
FETUBERGIC3psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.000
FETUBEBPpsi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.000

BioGRID (10): FETUB (Two-hybrid), FETUB (Synthetic Lethality), DARS2 (Two-hybrid), MTIF3 (Two-hybrid), ERGIC3 (Two-hybrid), EBP (Two-hybrid), CREB3L1 (Two-hybrid), HSD17B13 (Two-hybrid), RAB14 (Cross-Linking-MS (XL-MS)), FETUB (Reconstituted Complex)

ESM2 similar proteins: A0A1S3PBB7, B6S2X0, O08677, O70159, P01042, P01044, P01045, P01048, P02765, P08932, P08934, P12763, P24090, P25230, P29695, P29699, P29700, P29701, P33046, P49928, P49929, P49931, P51437, P54229, P80191, P97515, Q1KLX0, Q1KLX3, Q1KLX5, Q1KLX6, Q1KLX7, Q1KLX9, Q1KLY0, Q1KLY2, Q1KLY4, Q1KLY6, Q1KLY7, Q1KLY8, Q58D62, Q5KQS1

Diamond homologs: A0A0K0IP23, G5ECM9, G5EDZ9, O08677, P01048, P08932, P08934, P22085, P31726, P90698, Q6QZV5, Q9LEI7, Q9UGM5, P04196, P33433, Q28640, Q58D62, Q99PS8, Q9ESB3, A0A1S3PBB7, O76096, O89098, P01042, P01044, P01045, Q15828, O70159, P02765, P12763, P24090, P29695, P29699, P29700, P29701, P80191, P97515, Q5KQS1, Q5KQS2, Q5KQS3, Q5KQS4

SIGNOR signaling

0 interactions.

Disease & clinical

Clinical variants and AI predictions

ClinVar

74 variants total. Per-class counts are floors (≥ shown; pagination cap):

ClassificationCount (floor)
Pathogenic0
Likely pathogenic0
Uncertain significance54
Likely benign7
Benign7

Top pathogenic / likely-pathogenic (0)

SpliceAI

1538 predictions. Top by Δscore:

VariantEffectΔscore
3:186651217:GCCT:Gacceptor_gain1.0000
3:186636229:G:GGdonor_gain0.9900
3:186640674:GAA:Gdonor_gain0.9900
3:186640690:G:GGdonor_gain0.9900
3:186641141:G:GGdonor_gain0.9900
3:186644749:A:AGacceptor_gain0.9900
3:186644750:G:GGacceptor_gain0.9900
3:186646246:AGTG:Aacceptor_gain0.9900
3:186646247:GTGG:Gacceptor_gain0.9900
3:186650627:A:AGacceptor_gain0.9900
3:186650628:G:GGacceptor_gain0.9900
3:186651213:TTTA:Tacceptor_loss0.9900
3:186651215:TA:Tacceptor_loss0.9900
3:186651216:A:ACacceptor_loss0.9900
3:186651216:A:AGacceptor_gain0.9900
3:186651216:AGCCT:Aacceptor_gain0.9900
3:186651217:G:GGacceptor_gain0.9900
3:186651217:GC:Gacceptor_gain0.9900
3:186651217:GCCTG:Gacceptor_gain0.9900
3:186651297:CACAG:Cdonor_loss0.9900
3:186651298:ACAGG:Adonor_loss0.9900
3:186651299:CAG:Cdonor_loss0.9900
3:186651300:AGG:Adonor_loss0.9900
3:186651301:GGT:Gdonor_loss0.9900
3:186651303:T:Gdonor_loss0.9900
3:186640458:A:AGacceptor_gain0.9800
3:186640458:AGAAT:Aacceptor_gain0.9800
3:186640459:G:GGacceptor_gain0.9800
3:186640459:GAATG:Gacceptor_gain0.9800
3:186640675:A:Tdonor_gain0.9800

AlphaMissense

2469 scored. Top likely-pathogenic:

VariantProtein changeam_pathogenicity
3:186642483:T:AC117S0.980
3:186642484:G:CC117S0.980
3:186640657:G:CR66P0.967
3:186642543:T:AC137S0.966
3:186642544:G:CC137S0.966
3:186651230:T:AC237S0.964
3:186651231:G:CC237S0.964
3:186652554:T:CF358L0.955
3:186652556:C:AF358L0.955
3:186652556:C:GF358L0.955
3:186640566:T:AC36S0.953
3:186640567:G:CC36S0.953
3:186640619:C:AN53K0.951
3:186640619:C:GN53K0.951
3:186652584:T:AC368S0.948
3:186652585:G:CC368S0.948
3:186642483:T:CC117R0.946
3:186651281:T:AC254S0.944
3:186651282:G:CC254S0.944
3:186642544:G:AC137Y0.943
3:186646278:T:GY209D0.943
3:186642545:T:GC137W0.942
3:186642543:T:CC137R0.941
3:186646279:A:CY209S0.941
3:186644846:T:CS174P0.940
3:186642484:G:AC117Y0.936
3:186642485:C:GC117W0.934
3:186641055:T:CL84P0.930
3:186642489:G:CA119P0.927
3:186646278:T:CY209H0.927

dbSNP variants (sampled 300 via entrez): RS1000123933 (3:186639445 T>A), RS1000456445 (3:186638650 T>C), RS1000745700 (3:186647708 A>G), RS1000755221 (3:186641944 G>A,C), RS1000878979 (3:186653590 C>T), RS1000927591 (3:186644270 C>T), RS1001232522 (3:186651745 A>C), RS1001546915 (3:186641751 A>G), RS1001730324 (3:186641766 G>A), RS1001801090 (3:186636039 C>T), RS1001997829 (3:186653228 A>C), RS1002101356 (3:186635784 T>C), RS1002666818 (3:186650625 G>A), RS1002769630 (3:186646145 T>C), RS1003092670 (3:186650905 C>A)

Disease associations

OMIM: gene MIM:605954 | disease phenotypes:

GenCC curated gene-disease

Mondo (0):

Orphanet (0):

HPO phenotypes

0 total (0 of 0 shown, HPO-id order):

GWAS associations

7 associations (top):

StudyTraitp-value
GCST001574_5Activated partial thromboplastin time1.000000e-111
GCST008478_16Neurological blood protein biomarker levels2.000000e-11
GCST010796_2394Electrocardiogram morphology (amplitude at temporal datapoints)3.000000e-08
GCST010796_2395Electrocardiogram morphology (amplitude at temporal datapoints)2.000000e-08
GCST010796_2396Electrocardiogram morphology (amplitude at temporal datapoints)4.000000e-08
GCST010796_2397Electrocardiogram morphology (amplitude at temporal datapoints)5.000000e-08
GCST010796_2398Electrocardiogram morphology (amplitude at temporal datapoints)2.000000e-08

EFO canonical traits (1, from GWAS)

EFO IDTrait name
EFO:0004327electrocardiography

Drugs & pharmacology

Drug and pharmacology data

Is drug target: no

PharmGKB: 1 entry (VIP=true, CPIC=false)

CTD chemical–gene interactions

37 total (human), top 30 by PubMed support.

ChemicalActions (top 5)PubMed papers
Acetaminophendecreases expression3
Benzo(a)pyreneaffects methylation, decreases expression, increases methylation3
Aflatoxin B1decreases methylation, affects expression, decreases expression3
Cyclosporinedecreases expression, affects cotreatment, affects expression2
methyleugenoldecreases expression1
bisphenol Adecreases methylation1
sodium arsenatedecreases expression, increases abundance1
sodium arsenitedecreases expression1
nickel sulfatedecreases expression1
perfluorooctane sulfonic aciddecreases expression1
CGP 52608affects binding, increases reaction1
perfluoro-n-nonanoic aciddecreases expression1
obeticholic acidincreases expression1
2,2’,4,4’-tetrabromodiphenyl etherdecreases expression1
Allergensincreases expression1
Arsenicdecreases expression, increases abundance1
Arsenicalsdecreases expression1
Chenodeoxycholic Acidaffects cotreatment, increases expression1
Chlorpromazineaffects cotreatment, affects expression1
Cholic Acidsaffects cotreatment, affects expression1
Deoxycholic Acidaffects cotreatment, increases expression1
Estradioldecreases expression1
Formaldehydedecreases expression1
Glycochenodeoxycholic Acidaffects cotreatment, increases expression1
Glycocholic Acidaffects cotreatment, increases expression1
Glycodeoxycholic Acidincreases expression, affects cotreatment1
Methyltestosteroneaffects expression, affects cotreatment1
Silicon Dioxidedecreases expression1
Tobacco Smoke Pollutionaffects expression1
Triclosanaffects cotreatment, increases expression1

Clinical trials (associated diseases)

0 trials via MONDO — disease-level, not drug-specific.

No linked Atlas pages yet — the cross-entity mesh grows as the corpus expands.