Fatty-acid synthase

In enzymology, a fatty-acid synthase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction


 * acetyl-CoA + n malonyl-CoA + 2n NADPH + 2n H+ $$\rightleftharpoons$$ a long-chain fatty acid + (n+1) CoA + n CO2 + 2n NADP+

The 4 substrates of this enzyme are acetyl-CoA, malonyl-CoA, NADPH, and H+, whereas its 4 products are long-chain fatty acid, CoA, CO2, and NADP+.

This enzyme belongs to the family of transferases, specifically those acyltransferases transferring groups other than aminoacyl groups. The systematic name of this enzyme class is acyl-CoA:malonyl-CoA C-acyltransferase (decarboxylating, oxoacyl- and enoyl-reducing and thioester-hydrolysing). This enzyme is also called yeast fatty acid synthase. This enzyme participates in fatty acid biosynthesis and insulin signaling pathway.

Structural studies
As of late 2007, 7 structures have been solved for this class of enzymes, with PDB accession codes, , , , , , and.