The homeostasis of palmitoylation and depalmitoylation is involved in various cellular processes, the disruption of which induces severe physiological consequences. Acyl-protein thioesterase (APT) and palmitoyl-protein thioesterases (PPT) catalyze the depalmitoylation process. The natural mutation in human PPT1 caused neurodegenerative disease, yet the understanding of APT1 remains to be elucidated. While the deletion of APT1 in mice turned out to be potentially embryonically lethal, the decoding of its function strictly relied on the identification of its substrates.
The homeostasis of palmitoylation and depalmitoylation is involved in various cellular processes, the disruption of which induces severe physiological consequences. Acyl-protein thioesterase (APT) and palmitoyl-protein thioesterases (PPT) catalyze the depalmitoylation process. The natural mutation in human PPT1 caused neurodegenerative disease, yet the understanding of APT1 remains to be elucidated. While the deletion of APT1 in mice turned out to be potentially embryonically lethal, the decoding of its function strictly relied on the identification of its substrates.