Glycerol-3-Phosphate Acyltransferase 2, Mitochondrial (GPAT2)

GPAT2 encodes a protein of 798 amino acids with a calculated mass of 88.8kDa and 27% amino acid identity to GPAT1. When Cos-7 cells were transiently transfected with GPAT2, NEM-sensitive GPAT activity increased 30%. Confocal microscopy confirmed a mitochondrial location. In contrast, incorporation into phospholipid species was lower than in control cells. Although a polyclonal antibody raised against full-length GPAT1 detected an approximately 89-kDa band in liver and testis from GPAT1 null mice and both 89- and 80-kDa bands in BAT from the knockout animals, the GPAT2 protein expressed in Cos-7 cells was only 80 kDa. In vitro translation showed a single product of 89 kDa. Unlike GPAT1, GPAT2 mRNA abundance in liver was not altered by fasting or refeeding. GPAT2 is likely to have a specialized function in testis.