Seroatlas · Human Serome Atlas

MT2A

Metallothionein-2

Also known as: MT2, MT2_HUMAN

Cross-references: UniProt · Ensembl · Human Protein Atlas · GeneCards · NCBI Gene

Protein identityUniProt · HPA

UniProt accession
P02795
Gene
MT2A
Ensembl
ENSG00000125148
Chromosome
16
Canonical length
61 aa
Protein class
Plasma proteins, Predicted intracellular proteins

OverviewNCBI Gene

This gene is a member of the metallothionein family of genes. Proteins encoded by this gene family are low in molecular weight, are cysteine-rich, lack aromatic residues, and bind divalent heavy metal ions, altering the intracellular concentration of heavy metals in the cell. These proteins act as anti-oxidants, protect against hydroxyl free radicals, are important in homeostatic control of metal in the cell, and play a role in detoxification of heavy metals. The encoded protein interacts with the protein encoded by the homeobox containing 1 gene in some cell types, controlling intracellular zinc levels, affecting apoptotic and autophagy pathways. Some polymorphisms in this gene are associated with an increased risk of cancer. [provided by RefSeq, Sep 2017]

Canonical amino-acid sequenceUniProt

61 residues, UniProt reviewed canonical sequence.

>P02795|MT2A
     1  MDPNCSCAAG DSCTCAGSCK CKECKCTSCK KSCCSCCPVG CAKCAQGCIC KGASDKCSCC
    61  A

LocalizationUniProt · AlphaFold · HPA

Whether an antibody against MT2A can act on the native protein depends on physical access: surface and secreted proteins are reachable by circulating antibodies, intracellular proteins usually are not.

Antibody reachability
Intracellular
Secreted
No
Transmembrane segments
0
Mean surface accessibility (rSASA)
0.44
Highest tissue expression
15,848 nTPM

Expression across tissuesHPA

Tissue

  • liver: 15,848 nTPM
  • adipose tissue: 6,372 nTPM
  • skeletal muscle: 6,198 nTPM
  • adrenal gland: 4,447 nTPM
  • midbrain: 3,223 nTPM
  • lung: 3,214 nTPM

Single-cell type

  • hepatocytes: 19,708 nCPM
  • epididymal basal cells: 11,984 nCPM
  • gastric chief cells: 9,169 nCPM
  • enterocytes: 8,637 nCPM
  • endometrial luminal cells: 7,283 nCPM
  • epididymal efferent duct absorptive cells: 7,110 nCPM

Immune cell

  • memory CD8 T-cell: 275 nTPM
  • T-reg: 262 nTPM
  • basophil: 253 nTPM
  • gdT-cell: 251 nTPM
  • non-classical monocyte: 239 nTPM
  • intermediate monocyte: 211 nTPM

Brain region

  • thalamus: 1,230 nTPM
  • medulla oblongata: 1,072 nTPM
  • midbrain: 1,065 nTPM
  • pons: 972 nTPM
  • cerebellum: 841 nTPM
  • basal ganglia: 827 nTPM

Genetic constraint and essentialitygnomAD · DepMap

Does the body need this protein intact? Low LOEUF or a strong DepMap dependency means loss or blockade of the protein is likely to be felt.

gnomAD LOEUF (loss-of-function intolerance)
1.95
gnomAD pLI
0
gnomAD missense Z
0.45
DepMap mean gene effect
-0.49
DepMap dependency class
selective

Cancer expressionTCGA

Across TCGA tumor cohorts, this protein is over-expressed in roughly 3% of surveyed tumor types (aggregate summary; per-cohort expression, alteration, and survival load in the interactive view).

OntologyGO

Biological processes

Molecular functions

Cellular components

Protein domainsUniProt · Pfam · InterPro

KeywordsUniProt

InteractionsUniProt · HPA

Protein binding partners of MT2A in the human serome: UniProt-annotated complex subunits plus reported interactors. Each links to its own Seroatlas record.

Antibody and autoantibody relevanceSeroatlas analysis

Seroatlas reads MT2A as an antibody target. Whether an autoantibody or antibody against MT2A could matter depends on whether native MT2A is physically reachable, whether the body needs it intact, and whether it acts in a disease-relevant tissue.

MT2A is annotated as predominantly intracellular. Intracellular proteins are common autoantibody markers, becoming visible to the immune system after cell injury or altered processing, but are usually markers of disease rather than direct drivers.

Annotation status

The present source text does not explicitly label MT2A as an autoantigen. Seroatlas presents hypothesis context only and does not manufacture a known-serology claim.

Canonical record: https://seroatlas.com/gene/MT2A. Study-independent annotations aggregated from UniProt, Human Protein Atlas, PubMed, IEDB, Pfam, InterPro, Gene Ontology, AlphaFold, gnomAD, DepMap, ClinVar, TCGA. Catalog release seroatlas-reviewed-human-uniprot-20260313.

Seroatlas is the reference for exploring autoantibody and antibody serology at the human-protein level: the autoreactome and human serome, multiplex serology (HuProt, HuScan, VirScan, PhIP-Seq).

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