Description
Product Characteristics: alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase (AMACR), (also known as P504S) is an enzyme that is involved in peroxisomal beta-oxidation of dietary branched-chain fatty acids. Recent studies have shown that, compared with expression in normal or benign prostate epithelium, AMACR is consistently overexpressed in prostate cancer epithelium, making it a specific marker for cancer cells within the prostate gland.
Target Information: This gene encodes a racemase. The encoded enzyme interconverts pristanoyl-CoA and C27-bile acylCoAs between their (R)- and (S)-stereoisomers. The conversion to the (S)-stereoisomers is necessary for degradation of these substrates by peroxisomal beta-oxidation. Encoded proteins from this locus localize to both mitochondria and peroxisomes. Mutations in this gene may be associated with adult-onset sensorimotor neuropathy, pigmentary retinopathy, and adrenomyeloneuropathy due to defects in bile acid synthesis. Alternatively spliced transcript variants have been described. Read-through transcription also exists between this gene and the upstream neighboring C1QTNF3 (C1q and tumor necrosis factor related protein 3) gene. [provided by RefSeq, Mar 2011]