Lecithin retinol acyltransferase explained

Lecithin retinol acyltransferase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the LRAT gene.^{[1] [2]}

Function

Lecithin retinol acyltransferase is a microsomal enzyme that catalyzes the esterification of all-trans-retinol into all-trans-retinyl ester during phototransduction, an essential reaction for the retinoid cycle in visual system and vitamin A status in liver.

Clinical significance

Mutations in this gene have been associated with early-onset severe retinal dystrophy.^[2]

LRAT was overexpressed in colorectal cancer cells compared to normal colonic epithelium. Strong LRAT expression was associated with a poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer.^[3]

See also

• The Visual Cycle

Further reading

• Ross AC, Zolfaghari R . Regulation of hepatic retinol metabolism: perspectives from studies on vitamin A status. . J. Nutr. . 134 . 1 . 269S–275S . 2004 . 14704332 . 10.1093/jn/134.1.269S. free .
• Herr FM, Ong DE . Differential interaction of lecithin-retinol acyltransferase with cellular retinol binding proteins. . Biochemistry . 31 . 29 . 6748–55 . 1992 . 1322170 . 10.1021/bi00144a014 .
• Mata NL, Tsin AT . Distribution of 11-cis LRAT, 11-cis RD and 11-cis REH in bovine retinal pigment epithelium membranes. . Biochim. Biophys. Acta . 1394 . 1 . 16–22 . 1998 . 9767084 . 10.1016/s0005-2760(98)00078-2.
• Mondal MS, Ruiz A, Bok D, Rando RR . Lecithin retinol acyltransferase contains cysteine residues essential for catalysis. . Biochemistry . 39 . 17 . 5215–20 . 2000 . 10819989 . 10.1021/bi9929554 .
• Ruiz A, Kuehn MH, Andorf JL, etal . Genomic organization and mutation analysis of the gene encoding lecithin retinol acyltransferase in human retinal pigment epithelium. . Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. . 42 . 1 . 31–7 . 2001 . 11133845 .
• Andreola F, Giandomenico V, Spero R, De Luca LM . Expression of a smaller lecithin:retinol acyl transferase transcript and reduced retinol esterification in MCF-7 cells. . Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. . 279 . 3 . 920–4 . 2001 . 11162450 . 10.1006/bbrc.2000.3995 . 25916469 .
• Thompson DA, Li Y, McHenry CL, etal . Mutations in the gene encoding lecithin retinol acyltransferase are associated with early-onset severe retinal dystrophy. . Nat. Genet. . 28 . 2 . 123–4 . 2001 . 11381255 . 10.1038/88828 . 19391022 .
• Jahng WJ, Cheung E, Rando RR . Lecithin retinol acyltransferase forms functional homodimers. . Biochemistry . 41 . 20 . 6311–9 . 2002 . 12009892 . 10.1021/bi015710b . 5503676 .
• Strausberg RL, Feingold EA, Grouse LH, etal . Generation and initial analysis of more than 15,000 full-length human and mouse cDNA sequences. . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. . 99 . 26 . 16899–903 . 2003 . 12477932 . 10.1073/pnas.242603899 . 139241. 2002PNAS...9916899M . free .
• Zhan HC, Gudas LJ, Bok D, etal . Differential expression of the enzyme that esterifies retinol, lecithin:retinol acyltransferase, in subtypes of human renal cancer and normal kidney. . Clin. Cancer Res. . 9 . 13 . 4897–905 . 2004 . 14581364 .
• Jahng WJ, Xue L, Rando RR . Lecithin retinol acyltransferase is a founder member of a novel family of enzymes. . Biochemistry . 42 . 44 . 12805–12 . 2004 . 14596594 . 10.1021/bi035370p . 5511752 .
• Boorjian S, Tickoo SK, Mongan NP, etal . Reduced lecithin: retinol acyltransferase expression correlates with increased pathologic tumor stage in bladder cancer. . Clin. Cancer Res. . 10 . 10 . 3429–37 . 2004 . 15161698 . 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-03-0756 . free .
• Zolfaghari R, Ross AC . Cloning, gene organization and identification of an alternative splicing process in lecithin:retinol acyltransferase cDNA from human liver. . Gene . 341 . 181–8 . 2005 . 15474300 . 10.1016/j.gene.2004.06.043 . 3843125 .
• Gerhard DS, Wagner L, Feingold EA, etal . The status, quality, and expansion of the NIH full-length cDNA project: the Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC). . Genome Res. . 14 . 10B . 2121–7 . 2004 . 15489334 . 10.1101/gr.2596504 . 528928.
• O'Byrne SM, Wongsiriroj N, Libien J, etal . Retinoid absorption and storage is impaired in mice lacking lecithin:retinol acyltransferase (LRAT). . J. Biol. Chem. . 280 . 42 . 35647–57 . 2005 . 16115871 . 10.1074/jbc.M507924200 . 1352312. free .
• Rual JF, Venkatesan K, Hao T, etal . Towards a proteome-scale map of the human protein-protein interaction network. . Nature . 437 . 7062 . 1173–8 . 2005 . 16189514 . 10.1038/nature04209 . 2005Natur.437.1173R . 4427026 .
• Xue L, Jahng WJ, Gollapalli D, Rando RR . Palmitoyl transferase activity of lecithin retinol acyl transferase. . Biochemistry . 45 . 35 . 10710–8 . 2006 . 16939223 . 10.1021/bi060897y . 2529161.
• Sénéchal A, Humbert G, Surget MO, etal . Screening genes of the retinoid metabolism: novel LRAT mutation in leber congenital amaurosis. . Am. J. Ophthalmol. . 142 . 4 . 702–4 . 2006 . 17011878 . 10.1016/j.ajo.2006.04.057 .

External links

• GeneReviews/NCBI/NIH/UW entry on Retinitis Pigmentosa Overview

Notes and References

1. Ruiz A, Winston A, Lim YH, Gilbert BA, Rando RR, Bok D . Molecular and biochemical characterization of lecithin retinol acyltransferase . J Biol Chem . 274 . 6 . 3834–41 . Feb 1999 . 9920938 . 10.1074/jbc.274.6.3834. free .
2. Web site: Entrez Gene: LRAT lecithin retinol acyltransferase (phosphatidylcholine--retinol O-acyltransferase).
3. Brown. Gordon. Beatriz Cash . Daniela Blihoghe . Petronella Johansson . Ayham Alnabulsi . Graeme Murray . The Expression and Prognostic Significance of Retinoic Acid Metabolising Enzymes in Colorectal Cancer. PLOS ONE. 2014-03-07. 10.1371/journal.pone.0090776. 24608339 . 3946526 . 9 . 3. e90776. 2014PLoSO...990776B . free.