Phospholipase A2, Group IIA (PLA2G2A)

Phospholipases A2 (PLA2s) hydrolyze the sn-2 fatty acid acyl ester bond of phosphoglycerides, releasing free fatty acids and lysophospholipids. PLA2G2A belongs to PLA2 group II, which consists of extracellular enzymes with low molecular masses that require calcium ions for catalysis . The deduced protein contains a 20-amino acid signal sequence, followed by a 124-amino acid mature peptide that has a calculated molecular mass of about 14 kD. The protein has characteristics of the type II class of PLA2s, including conserved catalytic residues and a Ca(2+)-binding loop. Northern blot analysis detected a 0.8-kb transcript in inflamed human synovial tissue and in peritoneal exudate cells from a peritonitis patient, but not in 2 activated human promyelocytic cell lines.