ORP150, also known as HYOU1 (hypoxia upregulated 1), is a 999 amino acid protein that localizes to the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and is a member of the heat shock protein 70 (HSP 70) family. ORP150 is highly expressed in tissues that have well-developed ERs and a large number of secretory proteins (such as liver and pancreas). It is expressed at lower levels in kidney and brain, and plays an essential role in cytoprotective cellular responses to hypoxia (oxygen deprivation). Specifically, ORP150 participates in protein folding and secretion in the ER and functions to protect cells from hypoxia-induced apoptosis, thereby playing a crucial role in cell survival. ORP150 expression is upregulated in a variety of tumors, such as breast cancer, suggesting an important role in tumorigenesis. The gene encoding ORP150 has two translation initiation sites, resulting in a truncated transcript that lacks an ER signal peptide, but is thought to function as a housekeeping protein in the cytoplasm.
