Acyl-coenzyme A synthetase short-chain family member 2 is an

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...

that in

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

s is encoded by the ''ACSS2''

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

Function

This gene encodes a

cytosolic The cytosol, also known as cytoplasmic matrix or groundplasm, is one of the liquids found inside cells (intracellular fluid (ICF)). It is separated into compartments by membranes. For example, the mitochondrial matrix separates the mitochondrio ...

that catalyzes the activation of

acetate An acetate is a salt (chemistry), salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. Alkali metal, alkaline, Alkaline earth metal, earthy, Transition metal, metallic, nonmetallic or radical Radical (chemistry), base). "Acetate" als ...

for use in

lipid synthesis Lipid metabolism is the synthesis and degradation of lipids in cells, involving the breakdown or storage of fats for energy and the synthesis of structural and functional lipids, such as those involved in the construction of cell membranes. In anim ...

and

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

generation. The protein acts as a

monomer In chemistry, a monomer ( ; ''mono-'', "one" + '' -mer'', "part") is a molecule that can react together with other monomer molecules to form a larger polymer chain or three-dimensional network in a process called polymerization. Classification Mo ...

and produces

acetyl In organic chemistry, acetyl is a functional group with the chemical formula and the structure . It is sometimes represented by the symbol Ac (not to be confused with the element actinium). In IUPAC nomenclature, acetyl is called ethanoyl, ...

- CoA from acetate in a reaction that requires

ATP ATP may refer to: Companies and organizations * Association of Tennis Professionals, men's professional tennis governing body * American Technical Publishers, employee-owned publishing company * ', a Danish pension * Armenia Tree Project, non ...

. It is also essential for the production of Crotonyl-CoA which activates its target genes by crotonylation of histone tails. Expression of this gene is regulated by

sterol Sterol is an organic compound with formula , whose molecule is derived from that of gonane by replacement of a hydrogen atom in position 3 by a hydroxyl group. It is therefore an alcohol of gonane. More generally, any compounds that contain the go ...

regulatory element-binding proteins, transcription factors that activate genes required for the synthesis of

cholesterol Cholesterol is any of a class of certain organic molecules called lipids. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of animal cell mem ...

and unsaturated fatty acids. Two transcript variants encoding different

isoform A protein isoform, or "protein variant", is a member of a set of highly similar proteins that originate from a single gene or gene family and are the result of genetic differences. While many perform the same or similar biological roles, some isof ...

s have been found for this gene. Metabolic production of acetyl-CoA is linked to histone acetylation and gene regulation. In mouse neurons, Mews ''et al''. identified a major role for the ACSS2 pathway to regulate histone acetylation and neuronal gene expression. Histone acetylation in mature neurons is associated strongly with memory formation. Chromatin becomes acetylated in specific regions of the brain, such as the hippocampus, in response to neuronal activity or behavioral training in rodent. Such acetylation correlates with the increased expression of a set of 'immediate early' genes, which encode proteins that broadly mediate changes in the strength of connections between neurons, therefore facilitating memory consolidation. In the mouse hippocampus, ACSS2 binds directly to immediate early genes to 'fuel' local histone acetylation and, in turn, their induction for long-term spatial memory.

References

11. Sabari BR, Tang Z, Huang H, Yong-Gonzalez V, Molina H, Kong HE, Dai L, Shimada M, Cross JR, Zhao Y, Roeder RG, Allis CD(2015). Intracellular crotonyl-CoA stimulates transcription through p300-catalyzed histone crotonylation. Mol Cell. 58(2):203-15

Function

References

External links

Further reading