Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase 2, Mitochondrial (SHMT2)

SHMT2 encodes the mitochondrial form of a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the reversible reaction of serine and tetrahydrofolate to glycine and 5,10-methylene tetrahydrofolate. The encoded product is primarily responsible for glycine synthesis. The activity of the encoded protein has been suggested to be the primary source of intracellular glycine. The gene which encodes the cytosolic form of this enzyme is located on chromosome 17.

Serine hydroxymethyltransferase is an enzyme which plays an important role in cellular one-carbon pathways by catalyzing the reversible, simultaneous conversions of L-serine to glycine (retro-aldol cleavage) and 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate to 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate (hydrolysis).