title: The role of acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) in energy metabolism.
abstract: Acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT, EC2.3.1.20), a key enzyme in triglyceride (TG) biosynthesis, not only participates in lipid metabolism but also influences metabolic pathways of other fuel molecules. Changes in the expression and/or activity levels of DGAT may lead to changes in systemic insulin sensitivity and energy homeostasis. The synthetic role of DGAT in adipose tissue, the liver, and the intestine, sites where endogenous levels of DGAT activity and TG synthesis are high, is relatively clear. Less clear is whether DGAT plays a mediating or preventive role in the development of ectopic lipotoxicity in tissues such as muscle and the pancreas, when their supply of free fatty acids (FFAs) exceeds their needs. Future studies with tissue-specific overexpression and/or knockout in these animal models would be expected to shed additional light on these issues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, USA. yy102@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Yi-Hao
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Henry N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Ginsberg
mesh_terms: D000217:Acyltransferases / Q000502:physiology*; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D051048:Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D007422:Intestines / Q000201:enzymology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D010179:Pancreas / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D000217:Acyltransferases; C494881:DGAT1 protein, human; D051048:Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase