MTLC is a 235 amino acid nuclear protein that is thought to regulate certain myc target genes. Downregulated in gastric cancer tissues, MTLC is expressed in the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, Bel7402. Overexpression of MTLC is thought to influence tumorigenic conversion, promotion of apoptosis genomic instability and inhibition of hematopoietic differentiation. The gene encoding MTLC maps to human chromosome 6, which contains 170 million base pairs and comprises nearly 6% of the human genome. Deletion of a portion of the q arm of chromosome 6 is associated with early onset intestinal cancer, suggesting the presence of a cancer susceptibility locus. Additionally, Porphyria cutanea tarda, Parkinson's disease, Stickler syndrome and a susceptibility to bipolar disorder are all associated with genes that map to chromosome 6.