MOGAT2
Description
The MOGAT2 (monoacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 11.
MOGAT2, also known as acyl-CoA:monoacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 (MGAT2), Diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase candidate 5 (DC5), or Diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2-like protein 5, is an enzyme encoded by the MOGAT2 gene. It is involved in the synthesis of diacylglycerol (DAG) and triacylglycerol (TAG) from monoacylglycerol (MAG). MOGAT2 and the related MOGAT3 genes are members of the acylglycerol o-acyltransferase family (DGAT2/MOGAT). MOGAT2 is a single copy gene in most mammals, but in ruminants, it has undergone tandem gene expansion. This suggests an evolving functionality in ruminants. In sheep, there are more than five tandemly duplicated copies of MOGAT2, with each copy expressed in a different tissue. The first copy is expressed in the duodenum, and the last copy is expressed in the skin, with no expression of any copy detected in the liver.
MOGAT2 is involved in glycerolipid synthesis and lipid metabolism. It catalyzes the formation of diacylglycerol (DAG), the precursor of triacylglycerol (TAG), by transferring the acyl chain of a fatty acyl-CoA to a monoacylglycerol (MAG). MOGAT2 plays a central role in the absorption of dietary fat in the small intestine by catalyzing the resynthesis of TAG in enterocytes. It prefers monoacylglycerols containing unsaturated fatty acids in the order of C18:3 > C18:2 > C18:1 > C18:0 at sn-2. MOGAT2 can also use 1-monoalkylglycerol (1-MAkG) as an acyl acceptor for the synthesis of monoalkyl-monoacylglycerol (MAMAG) and subsequently, with lower efficiency, may add another acyl chain producing monoalkyl-diacylglycerol (MADAG). MOGAT2 has weak but significant activity with diacylglycerol as substrate, producing triacylglycerol.
MOGAT2 is also known as DGAT2L5, DGAT2L5., MGAT2, hDC5.
