Geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase 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 humans is encoded by the ''GGPS1''
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 is a member of the prenyltransferase family and encodes a protein with geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) synthase activity. The enzyme catalyzes the synthesis of
GGPP
Geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of diterpenes and diterpenoids. It is also the precursor to carotenoids, gibberellins, tocopherols, and chlorophylls.
It is also a precursor to geranylgeranylated proteins, whic ...
from
farnesyl diphosphate
Farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP), also known as farnesyl diphosphate (FDP), is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of terpenes and terpenoids such as sterols and carotenoids. It is also used in the synthesis of CoQ (part of the electron transport cha ...
and
isopentenyl diphosphate. GGPP is an important molecule responsible for the C20-prenylation of proteins and for the regulation of a nuclear hormone receptor. Alternate transcriptional splice variants, encoding different isoforms, have been characterized.
Much like its homolog farnesyl diphosphate synthase, GGPS1 is inhibited by
bisphosphonate
Bisphosphonates are a class of drugs that prevent the loss of bone density, used to treat osteoporosis and similar diseases. They are the most commonly prescribed drugs used to treat osteoporosis. They are called bisphosphonates because they ...
compounds.
Clinical
Mutations in both copies of this gene have been associated with a syndrome of muscular dystrophy, hearing loss and ovarian insufficiency.
[Foley AR, Zou Y, Dunford JE, Rooney J, Chandra G, Xiong H, Straub V, Voit T, Romero N, Donkervoort S, Hu Y, Markello T, Horn A, Qebibo L, Dastgir J, Meilleur K, Finkel RS, Fan Y, Mamchaoui K, Duguez S, Nelson I, Laporte J, Santi M, Malfatti E, Maisonobe T, Touraine P, Hirano M, Hughes I, Bushby K, Oppermann U, Böhm J, Jaiswal JK, Stojkovic T, Bönnemann CG (2020) GGPS1 mutations cause muscular dystrophy/hearing loss/ovarian insufficiency syndrome. Ann Neurol ]
References
Further reading
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