The MAGE (melanoma antigen-encoding gene) family are expressed in a wide variety of tumours but not in normal cells, with the exception of the male germ cells, placenta, and, possibly, cells of the developing embryo. The cellular function of this family is unknown. This family also contains the yeast protein, Nse3. The Nse3 protein is part of the Smc5-6 complex [2-3]. Nse3 has been demonstrated to be important for meiosis[3].

1: MAGE Xp-2: a member of the MAGE gene family isolated from an expression library using systemic lupus erythematosus sera. McCurdy DK, Tai LQ, Nguyen J, Wang Z, Yang HM, Udar N, Naiem F, Concannon P, Gatti RA; Mol Genet Metab 1998;63:3-13. PMID:9538511

2: Composition and architecture of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe Rad18 (Smc5-6) complex. Sergeant J, Taylor E, Palecek J, Fousteri M, Andrews EA, Sweeney S, Shinagawa H, Watts FZ, Lehmann AR; Mol Cell Biol. 2005;25:172-184. PMID:15601840

3: Nse1, Nse2, and a novel subunit of the Smc5-Smc6 complex, Nse3, play a crucial role in meiosis. Pebernard S, McDonald WH, Pavlova Y, Yates JR 3rd, Boddy MN; Mol Biol Cell. 2004;15:4866-4876. PMID:15331764