1-Acylglycerol-3-Phosphate-O-Acyltransferase 1 (AGPAT1)

AGPAT1 encodes an enzyme that converts lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) into phosphatidic acid (PA). LPA and PA are two phospholipids involved in signal transduction and in lipid biosynthesis in cells. This enzyme localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum. This gene is located in the class III region of the human major histocompatibility complex. Alternative splicing results in two transcript variants encoding the same protein.The predicted LPAAT-alpha protein is 283 amino acids long. Overexpression of the human LPAATs in mammalian cell lines led to increased enzyme activity. This increase in activity correlated with enhanced transcription and synthesis of IL6 and TNF-alpha, suggesting that LPAAT overexpression may amplify the cellular response to cytokine stimulation.