CLONING, EXPRESSION, AND CHROMOSOMAL LOCALIZATION OF HUMAN LONG-CHAINFATTY-ACID COA LIGASE-4 (FACL4)

Long-chain fatty acid-CoA ligase (also called fatty acid acyl-CoA synt hetase) plays an essential role in lipid biosynthesis and fatty acid d egradation. We report herein the cDNA cloning of the human long-chain fatty acid-CoA ligase 4 from a brain library. The cDNA encodes a funct ional long-chain fatty acid-CoA ligase that shows preference for arach idonic acid as substrate, We also studied the tissue distribution of g ene expression by Northern hybridization, Human placenta, brain, testi s, ovary, spleen, and adrenal cortex have the highest levels of expres sion of the long-chain fatty acid-CoA ligase 4, whereas the GI system has the lowest, Finally, this gene was localized to chromosome Xq23 in human by FISH analysis. (C) 1998 Academic Press.