# RELA

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/rela/  
OnCo record `rela` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

RELA (Transcription factor p65) is a gene whose normal job is to hold cell growth in check. The public catalogues list it as a tumour suppressor and a fusion partner, and it is called a cancer driver by mutation analysis of patient cohorts. Tied to Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer.

## Summary

NF-kappa-B is a pleiotropic transcription factor present in almost all cell types and is the endpoint of a series of signal transduction events that are initiated by a vast array of stimuli related to many biological processes such as inflammation, immunity, differentiation, cell growth, tumorigenesis and apoptosis. NF-kappa-B is a homo- or heterodimeric complex formed by the Rel-like domain-containing proteins RELA/p65, RELB, NFKB1/p105, NFKB1/p50, REL and NFKB2/p52. The heterodimeric RELA-NFKB1 complex appears to be most abundant one.

IntOGen calls it a driver in 1 cohort (0 activating, 1 loss-of-function), covering Stomach Adenocarcinoma.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: RELA proto-oncogene, NF-kB subunit; Transcription factor p65; p65; NFKB3
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: RELA
- Class: tumor-suppressor
- Biology: NF-kappa-B is a pleiotropic transcription factor present in almost all cell types and is the endpoint of a series of signal transduction events that are initiated by a vast array of stimuli related to many biological processes such as inflammation, immunity, differentiation, cell growth, tumorigenesis and apoptosis. NF-kappa-B is a homo- or heterodimeric complex formed by the Rel-like domain-containing proteins RELA/p65, RELB, NFKB1/p105, NFKB1/p50, REL and NFKB2/p52. The heterodimeric RELA-NFKB1 complex appears to be most abundant one. The dimers bind at kappa-B sites in the DNA of their target genes and the individual dimers have distinct preferences for different kappa-B sites that they can bind with distinguishable affinity and specificity. Different dimer combinations act as transcriptional activators or repressors, respectively. The NF-kappa-B heterodimeric RELA-NFKB1 and RELA-REL complexes, for instance, function as transcriptional activators. Location: Nucleus; Cytoplasm (UniProt). Locus 11q13.1 (HGNC).
- Where found: Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer: IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (STAD)

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: IntOGen calls it a loss-of-function (LoF) driver in 1 cohort; UniProt disease notes describe a translocation or gene fusion involving the gene. Evidence tier "cohort-driver" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:9955: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:9955
- UniProt Q04206: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q04206/entry
- NCBI Gene 5970: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/5970
- Ensembl ENSG00000173039: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000173039

## Connected records

- collections: [IntOGen](https://onco.cc/collections/intogen/)
- cancers: [Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/gastric/)
- pathways: [B-cell receptor / BTK signalling (to NF-κB)](https://onco.cc/pathways/bcr-signalling/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/rela.json