Mitochondrial Trans-2-Enoyl Coenzyme A Reductase (MECR)

The deduced 373-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of 37 kD. Homologous proteins were identified in mammalian, nematode, and yeast databases. The mammalian proteins contain a putative N-terminal mitochondrial targeting signal, and all contain a tyrosine residue critical for catalysis in the yeast enzyme.

Northern blot analysis detected a 1.4-kb NRBF1 transcript expressed at highest levels in skeletal and heart muscle. Expression was weaker in brain, placenta, liver, kidney, and pancreas, and no expression was detected in lung. SDS-PAGE showed that purified recombinant NRBF1 had an apparent molecular mass of about 37 kD. Size exclusion chromatography estimated a native mass of 65 kD, indicating that NRBF1 forms homodimers.