Heat shock protein family E (Hsp10) member 1 pseudogene 14 (HSPE1P14)

Heat shock protein family E (Hsp10) member 1 pseudogene 14 (HSPE1P14) is a pseudogene—a segment of DNA similar to known genes but generally considered incapable of coding for a functional protein due to disabling mutations or lack of regulatory elements. Like other pseudogenes, HSPE1P14 is a noncoding genomic sequence related to the protein-coding HSPE1 gene, which itself encodes the mitochondrial chaperonin 10 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp10). While pseudogenes were historically considered non-functional "junk DNA," recent work has shown that some pseudogenes exert regulatory roles at the RNA level, potentially influencing gene expression of their parent or related genes, and in rare cases, participating in disease-relevant regulatory networks—for example, by acting as decoys for microRNAs or contributing to the generation of small interfering RNAs. There is no current evidence that HSPE1P14 has a well-defined functional, pathogenic, or therapeutic role.