Palmitoylation

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Structural formula of palmitic acid

Palmitoylation is the process by which palmitic acid (palmitate, C16: 0) is attached to cysteine ​​residues in proteins . This attachment of fatty acid groups is very specific and is an important post-translational modification of proteins.

Palmitic acid is produced in the first step of lipogenesis (fatty acid synthesis). The chains can be covalently coupled to cysteine ​​residues via thioester compounds . In similar processes, not only palmitate, but also other fatty acids such as myristate ( myristoylation ), stearic acid or arachidonic acid can be coupled to proteins, which is why S-acylation is a suitable general term for this process. Nevertheless, the formulation palmitoylation is far more common in the specialist literature. The enzymes involved are largely unknown, but a membrane-bound palmitoylacyltransferase (PAT) was isolated, which is involved in this process.

Many cellular and viral proteins that are associated with the cell membrane are palmitoylated. The function of palmitoylation essentially serves to anchor lipids in the membrane. By controlling this palmitoylation process, the transport and localization of proteins can also be controlled. For example, palmitoylated G proteins are localized in lipid rafts or changes in the palmitoylation of PSD-95 result in a changed distribution of this synaptic protein from dendrites to the axon of a nerve cell .

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