Clinical Significance
Deregulation of XIAP can result in “cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and autoimmunity”. High proportions of XIAP may function as a tumor marker. In the development of lung cancer NCI-H460, the overexpression of XIAP not only inhibits caspase, but also stops the activity of cytochrome c (Apoptosis). In developing prostate cancer, XIAP is one of four IAPs overexpressed in the prostatic epithelium, indicating that a molecule that inhibits all IAPs may be necessary for effective treatment. Apoptotic regulation is an extremely important biological function, as evidenced by "the conservation of the IAPs from humans to Drosophila".
Mutations in the XIAP gene can result in a severe and rare type of inflammatory bowel disease. Defects in the XIAP gene can also result in an extremely rare condition called X-linked lymphoproliferative disease.
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