Description
An iron protein. The enzyme introduces a cis double bond at carbon 6 of acyl-CoAs. It is a front-end desaturase, introducing the new double bond between a pre-existing double bond and the carboxyl-end of the fatty acid. The human enzyme has a broad substrate range. It also acts on palmitoyl-CoA, generating sapienoyl-CoA, and on (9Z,12Z,15Z,18Z,21Z)-tetracosa-9,12,15,18,21-pentaenoyl-CoA, converting it to (6Z,9Z,12Z,15Z,18Z,21Z)-tetracosa-6,9,12,15,18,21-hexaenoyl-CoA as part of a pathway that produces docosahexaenoate. The enzyme contains a cytochrome b5 domain that is assumed to act in vivo as the electron donor to the active site of the desaturase.
Synonyms
Δ6-desaturase; Δ6-fatty acyl-CoA desaturase; Δ6-acyl CoA desaturase; fatty acid Δ6-desaturase; fatty acid 6-desaturase; linoleate desaturase; linoleic desaturase; linoleic acid desaturase; linoleoyl CoA desaturase; linoleoyl-coenzyme A desaturase; long-chain fatty acid Δ6-desaturase; linoleoyl-CoA,hydrogen-donor:oxygen oxidoreductase; linoleoyl-CoA desaturase; FADS2 (gene name)