| Gene Summary: | This gene is located within the CDKN2B-CDKN2A gene cluster at chromosome 9p21. The gene product is a functional RNA molecule that interacts with polycomb repressive complex-1 (PRC1) and -2 (PRC2), leading to epigenetic silencing of other genes in this cluster. This region is a significant genetic susceptibility locus for cardiovascular disease, and has also been linked to a number of other pathologies, including several cancers, intracranial aneurysm, type-2 diabetes, periodontitis, Alzheimer's disease, endometriosis, frailty in the elderly, and glaucoma. Multiple alternatively processed transcript variants have been detected, some of which may take the form of circular RNA molecules (PMID:21151960). [provided by RefSeq, May 2014] |