Hedgehog acyltransferase (HHAT), also called skinny hedgehog homology in humans, is a human
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 ...
.
The HHAT gene encodes 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 catalyzes
N-terminal
The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the ami ...
palmitoylation
Palmitoylation is the covalent attachment of fatty acids, such as palmitic acid, to cysteine (''S''-palmitoylation) and less frequently to serine and threonine (''O''-palmitoylation) residues of proteins, which are typically lipid bilayer, memb ...
of
sonic hedgehog
Sonic hedgehog protein (SHH) is encoded for by the ''SHH'' gene. The protein is named after the character ''Sonic the Hedgehog''.
This signaling molecule is key in regulating embryonic morphogenesis in all animals. SHH controls organogenesis and ...
. Mutations in HHAT produce a
phenotype
In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...
that is similar to loss of hedgehog function. Finally the HHAT protein shares a short but significant sequence similarity to
membrane-bound O-acyltransferases.
References
External links
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