Seroatlas · Human Serome Atlas

USP21

Ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase 21

Also known as: UBP21_HUMAN, USP16, USP23

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

Protein identityUniProt · HPA

UniProt accession: Q9UK80
Gene: USP21
Ensembl: ENSG00000143258
Chromosome: 1
Canonical length: 565 aa
Protein class: Enzymes, Metabolic proteins, Predicted intracellular proteins
Subcellular location: Nucleoplasm,Plasma membrane,Cytosol

OverviewNCBI Gene

This gene encodes a member of the C19 peptidase family, also known as family 2 of ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolases. The encoded protein cleaves ubiquitin from ubiquitinated proteins for recycling in intracellular protein degradation. The encoded protein is also able to release NEDD8, a ubiquitin-like protein, from NEDD8-conjugated proteins. This gene has been referred to as USP16 and USP23 but is now known as USP21. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Feb 2016]

Canonical amino-acid sequenceUniProt

565 residues, UniProt reviewed canonical sequence.

>Q9UK80|USP21
     1  MPQASEHRLG RTREPPVNIQ PRVGSKLPFA PRARSKERRN PASGPNPMLR PLPPRPGLPD
    61  ERLKKLELGR GRTSGPRPRG PLRADHGVPL PGSPPPTVAL PLPSRTNLAR SKSVSSGDLR
   121  PMGIALGGHR GTGELGAALS RLALRPEPPT LRRSTSLRRL GGFPGPPTLF SIRTEPPASH
   181  GSFHMISARS SEPFYSDDKM AHHTLLLGSG HVGLRNLGNT CFLNAVLQCL SSTRPLRDFC
   241  LRRDFRQEVP GGGRAQELTE AFADVIGALW HPDSCEAVNP TRFRAVFQKY VPSFSGYSQQ
   301  DAQEFLKLLM ERLHLEINRR GRRAPPILAN GPVPSPPRRG GALLEEPELS DDDRANLMWK
   361  RYLEREDSKI VDLFVGQLKS CLKCQACGYR STTFEVFCDL SLPIPKKGFA GGKVSLRDCF
   421  NLFTKEEELE SENAPVCDRC RQKTRSTKKL TVQRFPRILV LHLNRFSASR GSIKKSSVGV
   481  DFPLQRLSLG DFASDKAGSP VYQLYALCNH SGSVHYGHYT ALCRCQTGWH VYNDSRVSPV
   541  SENQVASSEG YVLFYQLMQE PPRCL

LocalizationUniProt · AlphaFold · HPA

Whether an antibody against USP21 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): 0.45
Highest tissue expression: 27 nTPM

Expression across tissuesHPA

Tissue

fallopian tube: 27 nTPM
ovary: 22 nTPM
cerebellum: 20 nTPM
seminal vesicle: 20 nTPM
skin: 20 nTPM
skeletal muscle: 19 nTPM

Single-cell type

fallopian tube ciliated cells: 13 nCPM
megakaryocytes: 12 nCPM
respiratory ciliated cells: 12 nCPM
cardiomyocytes: 11 nCPM
adrenal cortex cells: 11 nCPM
adrenal medulla cells: 11 nCPM

Immune cell

eosinophil: 17 nTPM
basophil: 16 nTPM
MAIT T-cell: 15 nTPM
NK-cell: 13 nTPM
memory CD8 T-cell: 13 nTPM
naive CD4 T-cell: 13 nTPM

Brain region

cerebral cortex: 31 nTPM
white matter: 31 nTPM
basal ganglia: 29 nTPM
thalamus: 28 nTPM
midbrain: 28 nTPM
amygdala: 27 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): 0.5
gnomAD pLI: 0
gnomAD missense Z: 2.08
DepMap mean gene effect: -0.17
DepMap dependency class: selective

Cancer expressionTCGA

Across TCGA tumor cohorts, this protein is over-expressed in roughly 18% 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 USP21 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 USP21 as an antibody target. Whether an autoantibody or antibody against USP21 could matter depends on whether native USP21 is physically reachable, whether the body needs it intact, and whether it acts in a disease-relevant tissue.

USP21 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 USP21 as an autoantigen. Seroatlas presents hypothesis context only and does not manufacture a known-serology claim.

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