Comparative Analyses of Disease Risk Genes Belonging to the Acyl-CoA Synthetase Medium-Chain (ACSM) Family in Human Liver and Cell Lines

The human ACSM1, 2A and B, 3, and 5 genes, located on chromosome 16p12-13, encode for enzymes catalyzing the activation of medium-chain length fatty acids. Association studies have linked several polymorphisms of these genes to traits of insulin resistance syndrome. In our study, ACSM transcripts showed 3 to > 400-fold higher expression levels in human liver when compared to cell lines by qRT-PCR. This difference was also evident at the protein level, as shown for ACSM2. In liver, ACSM2 was the most abundant transcript, showing sixfold (vs. ACSM3) to > 300-fold higher expression levels (vs. ACSM1). Mitochondrial localization of the ACSM2 protein and the presence of an N-terminal targeting sequence were shown by GFP-tagging. We have shown ACSM2B to be the predominant transcript in human liver, and genetic variations of this gene could therefore play an important role in disease susceptibility.