Mitochondrial ribosomal protein S18B pseudogene 2 (MRPS18BP2)

Mitochondrial ribosomal protein S18B pseudogene 2 (MRPS18BP2) is classified as a processed pseudogene found in the human genome. Unlike functional protein-coding genes, pseudogenes such as MRPS18BP2 do not encode an active protein and are considered non-functional remnants of related parental genes—in this case, MRPS18B, which encodes mitochondrial ribosomal protein S18B, a component of the mitochondrial small (28S) ribosomal subunit. MRPS18BP2 likely arose via retrotransposition events and shows high sequence similarity to MRPS18B, but contains mutations that prevent it from producing a functional protein. There is no evidence that MRPS18BP2 has a role as a therapeutic target, biomarker, or is involved in any disease process. While some pseudogenes can exert regulatory effects by acting as RNA decoys (competing for miRNAs or RNA-binding proteins), there is no literature indicating such a function for MRPS18BP2 specifically. It is not a validated target for drug interaction, nor does it present known safety concerns in therapeutic contexts. MRPS18BP2 is a human pseudogene, not a functional gene, receptor, enzyme, or drug target. It should not be considered in structured therapeutic target databases except as a pseudogene annotation.