background:
Serotonin, a monoamine neurotransmitter associated with neuronal modulation of emotions, is synthesized by serotonergic neurons of the central nervous system through metabolism of the essential amino acid L-tryptophan. In the pineal gland, serotonin can be transformed into the circadian regulatory hormone melatonin by ASMT (acetylserotonin O-methyltransferase) which catalyzes the final reaction in the synthesis pathway. ASMTL (N-acetylserotonin O-methyltransferase-like protein) is a 621 amino acid protein with a putative catalytic S-adenosyl-L-methionine domain that shares high genetic homology to ASMT. The ASMTL protein is encoded by a gene from the PAR1 region of the X and Y chromosomes, which is considered to be a fusion product of two evolutionarily disparate genes. ASMTL, with potential cytoplasmic localization, is abundant in pancreas, placenta, fibroblast, thymus, prostate, testis, ovary and colon. Low expression levels are found in spleen, small intestine and leukocytes.
Function:
Unknown. The presence of the putative catalytic domain of S-adenosyl-L-methionine binding argues for a methyltransferase activity.
Subcellular Location:
Cytoplasmic
Tissue Specificity:
Widely expressed. In adult, highly expressed in pancreas, placenta, fibroblast, thymus, prostate, testis, ovary and colon. Expressed at lower levels in spleen, small intestine and leukocytes. In fetus, expressed at high levels in the lung and kidney and at lower level in brain and liver.
Similarity:
In the N-terminal section; belongs to the maf family.
Database links:
UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot: O95671.3
Important Note:
This product as supplied is intended for research use only, not for use in human, therapeutic or diagnostic applications.
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