CRABP1 Gene

HGNC Family	Calycin structural superfamily
Name	cellular retinoic acid binding protein 1
Description	This gene encodes a specific binding protein for a vitamin A family member and is thought to play an important role in retinoic acid-mediated differentiation and proliferation processes. It is structurally similar to the cellular retinol-binding proteins, but binds only retinoic acid at specific sites within the nucleus, which may contribute to vitamin A-directed differentiation in epithelial tissue. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n CRABP1 (cellular retinoic acid binding protein 1) is emerging as a multifunctional mediator in tumor biology through its role in modulating retinoic acid (RA) signaling. In several studies of colorectal cancer, CRABP1 was incorporated as one of a panel of CpG island promoters to define the “CpG island methylator phenotype” (CIMP). In these analyses, hypermethylation of the CRABP1 promoter accompanied transcriptional silencing and thereby served as a cancer‐specific epigenetic marker that distinguishes CIMP‐high tumors from other molecular subtypes."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "1", "end_ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n Similarly, a study in ovarian carcinomas found CRABP1 methylation in a minority of cases, supporting its role as a tissue‐specific epigenetic marker in diverse malignancies."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In contrast, investigations in papillary thyroid carcinoma demonstrated that CRABP1 loss of expression—mediated by promoter hypermethylation—is a frequent event likely contributing to thyroid tumorigenesis."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Moreover, in prostate cancer, functional studies have revealed that de‐repression of CRABP1, as a result of loss of the repressor CIC, promotes cell proliferation and invasion, suggesting that in this context CRABP1 can act as an effector of oncogenic progression."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Together, these findings underscore that CRABP1 functions as more than a simple chaperone for retinoic acid. Depending on the tissue context, its altered expression—often through epigenetic modifications—may modulate retinoid signaling pathways that influence cell differentiation, proliferation, and invasiveness in cancer. These diverse roles position CRABP1 as both a useful molecular biomarker for tumor subtyping and a potential therapeutic target in malignancies where retinoid homeostasis is perturbed.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Shuji Ogino, Katsuhiko Nosho, Gregory J Kirkner, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "CpG island methylator phenotype, microsatellite instability, BRAF mutation and clinical outcome in colon cancer."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Gut (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1136/gut.2008.155473"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1136/gut.2008.155473"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18832519"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18832519"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Shuji Ogino, Takako Kawasaki, Gregory J Kirkner, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Evaluation of markers for CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) in colorectal cancer by a large population-based sample."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Mol Diagn (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.2353/jmoldx.2007.060170"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.2353/jmoldx.2007.060170"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17591929"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17591929"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Guro E Lind, Kristine Kleivi, Gunn I Meling, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ADAMTS1, CRABP1, and NR3C1 identified as epigenetically deregulated genes in colorectal tumorigenesis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell Oncol (2006)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1155/2006/949506"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1155/2006/949506"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17167179"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17167179"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Qinghua Wu, Ragnhild A Lothe, Terje Ahlquist, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "DNA methylation profiling of ovarian carcinomas and their in vitro models identifies HOXA9, HOXB5, SCGB3A1, and CRABP1 as novel targets."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Cancer (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1186/1476-4598-6-45"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-4598-6-45"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17623056"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17623056"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ying Huang, Albert de la Chapelle, Natalia S Pellegata "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hypermethylation, but not LOH, is associated with the low expression of MT1G and CRABP1 in papillary thyroid carcinoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Int J Cancer (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/ijc.11006"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.11006"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12640681"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12640681"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nahyun Choi, Jongmin Park, Jeon-Soo Lee, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "miR-93/miR-106b/miR-375-CIC-CRABP1: a novel regulatory axis in prostate cancer progression."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Oncotarget (2015)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.18632/oncotarget.4372"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.4372"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "26124181"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26124181"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	CRABP, CRABP-I, RBP5, CRABPI
Proteins	RABP1_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	1381
API
Download Associations
Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

CRABP1 has 7,526 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 115 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for CRABP1 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

CRABP1 Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of CRABP1 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of CRABP1 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of CRABP1 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of CRABP1 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of CRABP1 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of CRABP1 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of CRABP1 gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of CRABP1 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of CRABP1 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of CRABP1 gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of CRABP1 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of CRABP1 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with CRABP1 protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with CRABP1 gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of CRABP1 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of CRABP1 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of CRABP1 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of CRABP1 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing CRABP1 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with CRABP1 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with CRABP1 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with CRABP1 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with CRABP1 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with CRABP1 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by CRABP1 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with CRABP1 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with CRABP1 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with CRABP1 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with CRABP1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with CRABP1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	DrugBank Drug Targets	interacting drugs for CRABP1 protein from the curated DrugBank Drug Targets dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at CRABP1 gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of CRABP1 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of CRABP1 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing CRABP1 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with CRABP1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with CRABP1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of CRABP1 gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations	biological terms co-occuring with CRABP1 gene in literature-supported statements describing functions of genes from the GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations dataset.
	GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing CRABP1 from the GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures dataset.