Keratin 18 pseudogene 31 (KRT18P31)

Keratin 18 pseudogene 31 (KRT18P31) belongs to a group of processed pseudogenes derived from the keratin 18 (KRT18) gene, which in its functional form encodes an intermediate filament protein expressed in simple epithelial tissues. Pseudogenes such as KRT18P31 result from gene duplication or retrotransposition events and do not contain an intact coding sequence or produce functional proteins, as they lack critical exons and regulatory elements necessary for gene expression. These pseudogenes are distributed across the human genome, with at least 77 processed pseudogenes noted for KRT18, none of which possess protein-coding potential. KRT18P31 is not expressed at the protein level, has no direct biological function, and is not implicated as a target in disease, therapy, or biomarker development. Its only relevance is for genomic annotation and evolutionary studies pertaining to the expansion of the keratin gene family. KRT18P31 is a non-coding, nonfunctional pseudogene—it is not a valid drug target or receptor, and should not be annotated as such. All clinically relevant keratin 18 biology relates to the parent gene KRT18, not its pseudogenes.

Other names

KRT18P31