Human Lysophosphatidic Acid Acyltransferase

Lysophosphatidic acid (1-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphate (LPA)) is a phospholipid with diverse biological activities. The mediator serves as an intermediate in membrane phospholipid metabolism but is also produced in acute settings by activated platelets. LPA is converted to phosphatidic acid, itself a lipid mediator, by an LPA acyltransferase (LPAAT). A human expressed sequence tag was identified by homology with a coconut LPAAT and used to isolate a full-length human cDNA from a heart muscle library. The predicted amino acid sequence bears 33% identity with a Caenorhabditis elegans LPAAT homologue and 23–28% identity with plant and prokaryotic LPAATs. Recombinant protein produced in COS 7 cells exhibited LPAAT activity with a preference for LPA as the acceptor phosphoglycerol and arachidonyl coenzyme A as the acyl donor. Northern blotting demonstrated that the mRNA is expressed in most human tissues including a panel of brain subregions; expression is highest in liver and pancreas and lowest in placenta. The human LPAAT gene is contained on six exons that map to chromosome 9, region q34.3.