Delta(4)-desaturase, sphingolipid 2 is a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

that in humans is encoded by the DEGS2

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 ...

Function

This gene encodes a bifunctional enzyme that is involved in the biosynthesis of

sphingolipid Sphingolipids are a class of lipids containing a backbone of sphingoid bases, a set of aliphatic amino alcohols that includes sphingosine. They were discovered in brain extracts in the 1870s and were named after the mythological sphinx because o ...

s in human skin and in other phytosphingolipid-containing tissues. This enzyme can act as a sphingolipid delta(4)-

desaturase A fatty acid desaturase is an enzyme that removes two hydrogen atoms from a fatty acid, creating a carbon/carbon double bond. These desaturases are classified as: * Delta - indicating that the double bond is created at a fixed position from the ...

, and also as a sphingolipid C4-

hydroxylase In chemistry, hydroxylation can refer to: *(i) most commonly, hydroxylation describes a chemical process that introduces a hydroxyl group () into an organic compound. *(ii) the ''degree of hydroxylation'' refers to the number of OH groups in ...

Function

References

Further reading