APOBEC3B

Type

Gene (protein-coding)

Description

APOBEC3B is a member of the APOBEC family of single-stranded DNA cytosine deaminases. It is the only family member that constitutively localizes to the cell nucleus. Historically designated the primary mutagenic APOBEC in cancer (Burns et al., 2013, 2015), its role was revised by Petljak et al. (2022), who demonstrated via CRISPR knockout that APOBEC3A is the main driver of somatic APOBEC mutagenesis, while APOBEC3B contributes minimally and can restrain APOBEC3A by reducing its protein stability. Preferentially deaminates cytosines at 5’RTCA motifs.

External identifiers

• HGNC: 17353
• NCBI Gene: 9582
• UniProt: Q9UH17

Wiki sources

• burns2014-apobec3b-pathological-consequences — Canonical review establishing APOBEC3B as primary mutator (now revised)
• petljak2022-apobec3-mechanisms — Causal evidence: APOBEC3A is the main driver; APOBEC3B restrains APOBEC3A
• dananberg2024-apobec-cancer-review — APOBEC3B variable effects across cancer models
• conticello2008-aid-apobec-family — APOBEC family evolution and classification
• nik-zainal2012-21-breast-cancers — First identification of APOBEC mutational signatures in breast cancer
• pcawg2020-pan-cancer-analysis — Pan-cancer APOBEC3B germline deletion polymorphism analysis