S-Acylation Explained

S-Acylation is the process of chemically linking a molecule to another molecule via a thioester bond.^[1] Protein S-acylation is a sub-type of S-acylation where the first of those molecules is a protein, and connected to the second through a cysteine amino acid.^[1] A prominent type of protein S-acylation is palmitoylation, which promotes lipid membrane association of the protein, for instance to the plasma membrane, Golgi apparatus, or inner nuclear membrane.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Forrester . M. T. . Hess . D. T. . Thompson . J. W. . Hultman . R. . Moseley . M. A. . Stamler . J. S. . Casey . P. J. . 10.1194/jlr.D011106 . free . Site-specific analysis of protein S-acylation by resin-assisted capture . The Journal of Lipid Research . 52 . 2 . 393–398 . 2010 . 21044946 . 3023561 .
2. Hofemeister . H. . Weber . K. . Stick . R. . Association of Prenylated Proteins with the Plasma Membrane and the Inner Nuclear Membrane is Mediated by the Same Membrane-targeting Motifs . Molecular Biology of the Cell . 11 . 9 . 3233–3246 . 2000 . 10982413 . 14988 . 10.1091/mbc.11.9.3233.