Enolase 3 (ENO3)

Beta-enolase is one of the three enolase isoenzymes found in mammals. This isoenzyme, a homodimer, is found in skeletal muscle cells in the adult. A switch from alpha enolase to beta enolase occurs in muscle tissue during development in rodents. Mutations in this gene can be associated with metabolic myopathies that may result from decreased stability of the enzyme. Two transcripts have been identified for this gene that differ only in their 5' UTR.

Feo et al. (1990) mapped the muscle-specific beta-enolase (ENO3) to chromosome 17pter-p11 by analysis of rodent-human somatic cell hybrids and transfectant cell lines carrying different portions of chromosome 17. This muscle-specific enzyme maps to the region encoding the gene cluster for the sarcomeric myosin heavy chains (MYH1).