Acid alpha-glucosidase, also called α-1,4-glucosidase
and acid maltase,
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 ...
() that helps to break down
glycogen
Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria. The polysaccharide structure represents the main storage form of glucose in the body.
Glycogen functions as one of ...
in the
lysosome
A lysosome () is a membrane-bound organelle found in many animal cells. They are spherical vesicles that contain hydrolytic enzymes that can break down many kinds of biomolecules. A lysosome has a specific composition, of both its membrane p ...
. It is functionally similar to
glycogen debranching enzyme, but is on a different chromosome, processed differently by the cell and is located in the lysosome rather than the cytosol.
In humans, it is encoded by the ''GAA''
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 b ...
.
Errors in this gene cause
glycogen storage disease type II
Glycogen storage disease type II, also called Pompe disease, is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder which damages muscle and nerve cells throughout the body. It is caused by an accumulation of glycogen in the lysosome due to deficiency of th ...
(Pompe disease).
Function
This gene encodes lysosomal alpha-glucosidase, which is essential for the degradation of
glycogen
Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria. The polysaccharide structure represents the main storage form of glucose in the body.
Glycogen functions as one of ...
to
glucose
Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, u ...
in
lysosome
A lysosome () is a membrane-bound organelle found in many animal cells. They are spherical vesicles that contain hydrolytic enzymes that can break down many kinds of biomolecules. A lysosome has a specific composition, of both its membrane p ...
s. Different forms of acid alpha-glucosidase are obtained by proteolytic processing. Defects in this gene are the cause of
glycogen storage disease II, also known as Pompe disease, which is an autosomal recessive disorder with a broad clinical spectrum. Three transcript variants encoding the same protein have been found for this gene.
References
Further reading
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External links
GeneReview/NIH/UW entry on Glycogen Storage Disease Type II (Pompe Disease)*
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