Squalene Epoxidase (SQLE)

Squalene epoxidase (EC 1.14.99.7) catalyzes the first oxygenation step in sterol biosynthesis and is thought to be one of the rate-limiting enzymes in this pathway. Squalene epoxidase (SE) is a key flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent enzyme of ergosterol and cholesterol biosynthetic pathways and an attractive potential target for drugs used to inhibit the growth of pathogenic fungi or to lower cholesterol level. By PCR analysis of a human/rodent somatic cell hybrid mapping panel, Nagai et al. (1997) demonstrated that the human SQLE gene maps to chromosome 8. The localization was refined by PCR analysis of a radiation hybrid panel. The results showed that human SQLE is most tightly linked to D8S508, which is reported to be located at 8q24.13-qter. The authors used fluorescence in situ hybridization to map SQLE to 8q24.1.