The cloning of a fourth mouse SCD gene, mSCD4, as well as its corresponding cDNA and amino acid sequences are disclosed. Mouse SCD4 is expressed mainly in the heart tissue and synthesizes the bulk of monounsaturated fatty acids in the heart. The disclosure here enables new tools (e.g., nucleic acids, polypeptides, antibodies, vectors, recombinant cells, and transgenic and knock-out animals) for studying the function of various SCD isoforms and their connection to various disease conditions. New tools for converting saturated fatty acyl-CoA to monounsaturated acyl-CoA and for identifying SCD modulators including isoform-specific modulators are also enabled. In addition, given that accumulation of lipid in the heart (fatty heart) can have deleterious consequences, the present invention also provides a new prevention and treatment target for fatty heart as well as methods for screening candidate drugs.
本研究揭示了第四个小鼠 SCD
基因 mSC
D4 的克隆及其相应的 cDNA 和
氨基酸序列。小鼠 SC
D4 主要在心脏组织中表达,并在心脏中合成大部分单不饱和
脂肪酸。在此公开的信息提供了新的工具(如核酸、
多肽、
抗体、载体、
重组细胞以及转
基因和
基因敲除动物),用于研究各种 SCD 同工酶的功能及其与各种疾病的关系。将饱和
脂肪酸酰基-CoA 转化为单不饱和
脂肪酸酰基-CoA 和确定 SCD 调节剂(包括同工酶特异性调节剂)的新工具也已启用。此外,鉴于脂质在心脏中的积累(脂肪型心脏)会产生有害后果,本发明还提供了一种新的预防和治疗脂肪型心脏的靶点以及筛选候选药物的方法。