High impact information on FASN

• Fatty acid synthase (FAS), a key lipogenic enzyme, is expressed in the two major sites of fatty acid production in the body, that is, the liver and the adipose tissue [1].
• In these cells, the age-related increase (+300%) in the ratio of mRNA levels of fatty acid synthase to hormone-sensitive lipase paralleled the enlargement of adipocyte diameters (+70%, P < 0.05) and the increase in lipid content in muscle (+135%, P < 0.05) during growth [2].
• Dietary CLA increased glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (P: < 0.01) and malic enzyme activities (P: < 0.06) in the fat tissues, but did not affect fatty acid synthase activity [3].
• Porcine somatotrophin differentially down-regulates expression of the GLUT4 and fatty acid synthase genes in pig adipose tissue [4].
• Porcine fatty acid synthase: cloning of a complementary DNA, tissue distribution of its mRNA and suppression of expression by somatotropin and dietary protein [5].

Biological context of FASN

• Assignment of the fatty acid synthase (FASN) gene to pig chromosome 12 by physical and linkage mapping [6].
• We have calculated a 4.5 angstrom-resolution x-ray crystallographic map of porcine fatty acid synthase, highly homologous to the human multienzyme, and placed homologous template structures of all individual catalytic domains responsible for the cyclic elongation of fatty acid chains into the electron density [7].
• A 1.5-kb cDNA representing the thioesterase domain of porcine fatty acid synthase was isolated from a lambda gt 11 liver cDNA library [5].
• Regulation of fatty acid synthase gene expression: an approach for reducing fat accumulation [8].
• The reduction in basal rates of lipogenesis corresponded to a 79% decrease in total (activated) acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase activity and a 67% decrease in fatty acid synthase activity [9].

Anatomical context of FASN

• Synthesis of methyl-branched fatty acids from methylmalonyl-CoA by fatty acid synthase from both the liver and the harderian gland of the guinea pig [10].
• There was no detectable FAS mRNA in skeletal muscle [11].
• Using these FAS cDNA tools, FAS mRNA transcripts have been found in most tissues, including adipose, liver, lung, brain, kidney, and small intestine [8].

Associations of FASN with chemical compounds

• Glucose incorporation and fatty acid synthase activity were increased by insulin in a dose-dependent manner in adipocytes of both sites [12].
• Partially purified fatty acid synthase preparations from both the liver and the harderian gland of guinea pig showed the same relative rates of utilization of methylmalonyl-CoA when compared to malonyl-CoA [10].

Other interactions of FASN

• GH and insulin affect fatty acid synthase activity in isolated porcine adipocytes in culture without any modifications of sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 expression [12].
• Conversely, the LW pigs exhibited a fatter carcass, greater activity levels of fatty acid synthase and malic enzyme in backfat (n = 15 per group), and enlarged subcutaneous adipocytes (n = 8 per group) compared with the HW pigs [13].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of FASN

• Northern blot analysis of RNA from the same animals reveal a 90% decrease in mRNA for fatty acid synthase in the pST-treated group [9].
• The effects of polyunsaturated FA on the transcription factor adipocyte determination and differentiation-dependent factor (ADD) 1 and fatty acid synthase (FAS) mRNA in differentiating porcine adipocytes were measured using a stromal vascular cell culture system [14].

References