The putative tumour suppressor Fus-2 is an N-acetyltransferase.
Acetyltransferases are essential enzymes for a wide variety of cellular processes and mutations in acetyltransferase genes have been associated with the development of certain cancers. For this reason, we conducted a computerized sequence homology search for novel acetyltransferases. Here, we show that the putative tumour suppressor protein Fus-2 has homology to the catalytic domain of acetyltransferases. We demonstrate that Fus-2 can acetylate the N-terminus of proteins using a ping-pong mechanism and that it has a specificity for substrates. Consistent with other N-acetyltransferases, Fus-2 localizes to the cytoplasm, as shown by GFP-tag experiments. Since the Fus-2 gene maps to the chromosomal region 3p21.3, which contains at least one tumour suppressor gene, the N-acetyltransferase functions of Fus-2 may be relevant to its potential role in cancer.
Zegerman
P
P
Wellcome/CRC Institute, Department of Pathology, Cambridge University, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QR, UK.
Bannister
A J
AJ
Kouzarides
T
T
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001191:Arylamine N-Acetyltransferase / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D016147:Genes, Tumor Suppressor; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
D001191:Arylamine N-Acetyltransferase