title: Mammalian fatty acid synthase: X-ray structure of a molecular assembly line.
abstract: Mammalian fatty acid synthase (FAS) is a homodimeric, multifunctional polypeptide which comprises two full sets of catalytic subunits that carry out fatty acid synthesis. A recently published X-ray structure of FAS reveals, for the first time, the organization of all active sites involved in acyl chain elongation and provides a structural framework for interpretation of extensive functional studies. Further analysis with techniques capable of providing information about single molecule conformations will eventually provide a more complete understanding of FAS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA. asturias@scripps.edu
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Asturias
mesh_terms: D019943:Amino Acid Substitution; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D019281:Dimerization; D064429:Fatty Acid Synthases / Q000737:chemistry*; D008322:Mammals; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D064429:Fatty Acid Synthases