Background information
Sm and Sm-like (LSm) proteins form donut-shaped, ubiquitously expressed heptameric complexes that are involved in various steps of RNA metabolism, including RNA-protein interactions and structural changes that are required during ribosomal subunit assembly. LSm14B, also known as C20orf40, FAM61B or LSM13, is a 385 amino acid protein that exists as multiple alternatively spliced isoforms and may play a role in RNA-related events. The gene encoding LSm14B maps to human chromosome 20. Comprising approximately 2% of the human genome, chromosome 20 contains nearly 63 million bases that encode over 600 genes, some of which are associated with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy, ring chromosome 20 epilepsy syndrome and Alagille syndrome.