Hedgehog Acyltransferase (HHAT)

The HHAT encodes an enzyme that catalyzes N-terminal palmitoylation of sonic hedgehog. Finally the HHAT protein shares a short but significant sequence similarity to membrane-bound O-acyltransferases.The deduced MART2 protein contains 453 amino acids. Database analysis revealed a homologous cDNA isolated from a teratocarcinoma that encodes a 493-amino acid protein, as well as genomic DNAs derived from 1q32. RT-PCR and Northern blot analysis detected ubiquitous expression in normal tissues and cancer cell lines. The MART2 sequence isolated from the melanoma cell line was distinguished by the presence of a G-to-A transition, resulting in a gly-to-glu substitution after the leu in the P loop (FLGGNEVGKTY), that did not occur in T cells from the same patient.