Apolipoprotein C-I is a protein component of
lipoprotein
A lipoprotein is a biochemical assembly whose primary function is to transport hydrophobic lipid (also known as fat) molecules in water, as in blood plasma or other extracellular fluids. They consist of a triglyceride and cholesterol center, ...
s that in humans is encoded by the ''APOC1''
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
The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the
apolipoprotein C family. This gene is expressed primarily in the liver, and it is activated when
monocytes
Monocytes are a type of leukocyte or white blood cell. They are the largest type of leukocyte in blood and can differentiate into macrophages and conventional dendritic cells. As a part of the vertebrate innate immune system monocytes also inf ...
differentiate into
macrophages
Macrophages (abbreviated as M φ, MΦ or MP) ( el, large eaters, from Greek ''μακρός'' (') = large, ''φαγεῖν'' (') = to eat) are a type of white blood cell of the immune system that engulfs and digests pathogens, such as cancer ce ...
. Alternatively spliced transcript variants have been found for this gene, but the biological validity of some variants has not been determined.
Apolipoprotein C-I has a length of 57
amino acid
Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha ...
s normally found in plasma and responsible for the activation of esterified lecithin cholesterol with an important role in the exchange of esterified cholesterol between lipoproteins and in removal of cholesterol from tissues. Its main function is inhibition of
cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), probably by altering the
electric charge
Electric charge is the physical property of matter that causes charged matter to experience a force when placed in an electromagnetic field. Electric charge can be ''positive'' or ''negative'' (commonly carried by protons and electrons res ...
of
HDL molecules.
During fasting (like other
apolipoprotein C), it is found primarily within
HDL, while after a meal it is found on the surface of other lipoproteins. When proteins rich in triglycerides like chylomicrons and VLDL are broken down, this apoprotein is transferred again to HDL. It is one of the most positively charged
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 ...
s in the human body.
Pseudogene
A
pseudogene
Pseudogenes are nonfunctional segments of DNA that resemble functional genes. Most arise as superfluous copies of functional genes, either directly by DNA duplication or indirectly by reverse transcription of an mRNA transcript. Pseudogenes ar ...
of this gene is located 4 kb downstream from the apoC-I gene in the same orientation on chromosome 19, where both reside within an apolipoprotein gene cluster. This pseudogene, which was also reported to have been present in
Denisovans
The Denisovans or Denisova hominins ) are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human that ranged across Asia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic. Denisovans are known from few physical remains and consequently, most of what is know ...
and
Neandertals, originated from two separate events. Following the divergence of New World monkeys from the human lineage, the apoC-I gene was duplicated. Old World monkeys and great apes other than humans have been shown to have two active genes. One of the duplicates encodes a basic protein designated apoC-IB that is orthologous to human apolipoprotein C-I. The other encodes an acidic protein, apoC-IA, that is orthologous to the virtual protein encoded by the pseudogene. The pseudogenization event occurred sometime between the divergence of bonobos and chimpanzees from the human lineage and the arrival of Denisovans and Neandertals. The pseudogene is due to a change in a single nucleotide in the codon for the penultimate amino acid, i.e. glutamine, in the signal sequence, resulting in a stop codon.
Interactive pathway map
References
Further reading
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External links
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PDBe-KBprovides an overview of all the structure information available in the PDB for Human Apolipoprotein C-I
Apolipoproteins
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