Anti-FADS2

The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene family. Desaturase enzymes regulate unsaturation of fatty acids through the introduction of double bonds between defined carbons of the fatty acyl chain. FADS family members are considered fusion products composed of an N-terminal cytochrome b5-like domain and a C-terminal multiple membrane-spanning desaturase portion, both of which are characterized by conserved histidine motifs. This gene is clustered with family members at 11q12-q13.1, this cluster is thought to have arisen evolutionarily from gene duplication based on its similar exon/intron organization. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms. Protein function: Acts as a fatty acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) desaturase that introduces a cis double bond at carbon 6 of the fatty acyl chain. Involved in biosynthesis of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) from the essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) linoleic acid (LA) (18:2n-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) (18:3n-3) precursors. Catalyzes the first and rate limiting step in this pathway which is the desaturation of LA (18:2n-6) and ALA (18:3n- 3) into gamma-linoleate (GLA) (18:3n-6) and stearidonate (18:4n- 3), respectively (PubMed:12713571). Subsequently, in the biosynthetic pathway of HUFA n-3 series, desaturates tetracosapentaenoate (24:5n-3) to tetracosahexaenoate (24:6n-3), which is then converted to docosahexaenoate (DHA)(22:6n-3), an important lipid for nervous system function. Desaturates palmitate to produce the mono-unsaturated fatty acid sapienate, the most abundant fatty acid in sebum (PubMed:12713571). Also desaturates (11E)-octadecenoate (trans- vaccenoate)(18:1n-9), a metabolite in the biohydrogenation pathway of LA (18:2n-6). [The UniProt Consortium]