Platelet Activating Factor Acetylhydrolase Ib2 (PAFAH1B2)

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a biologically active phospholipid with diverse biologic effects. PAF is degraded to inactive products by hydrolysis of the acetyl group at the sn-2 position to produce the biologically inactive products LYSO-PAF and acetate. This reaction is catalyzed by PAF acetylhydrolase (PAFAH). The various monomeric and multimeric forms of the enzyme are composed of alpha , beta, and gamma PAFAH subunits. The PAFAH1B2 gene encodes a 229-amino acid polypeptide with a molecular mass of 30 kD. The human PAFAH1B2 amino acid sequence is 62.4% identical to that of the human gamma subunit. Northern blot analysis revealed that the gene was expressed as a 4.0-kb mRNA in all human adult and fetal tissues tested.