The ins and outs of SMIM1 and its relationship to the expression of Vel blood group antigen
Background: Vel blood group expression is dependent on Small Integral Membrane Protein 1 (SMIM1), a recently discovered erythroid protein. SMIM1 consists of 78 amino acids (aa) and shows only limited homology to other human proteins but is evolutionarily conserved, indicating its importance. The protein has a predicted transmembrane domain but the direction of insertion into the red blood cell (RB