Elovl7, or Elongation of Very Long Fatty Acids Protein 7, is a key enzyme in the synthesis of very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs). It is involved in fatty acid metabolism pathways [3,4,7,8,9,10]. VLCFAs have diverse physiological functions, and thus Elovl7 is of great biological importance in processes related to lipid metabolism [7,8,10]. Genetic models can be valuable for studying its function.

No KO/CKO mouse model findings were directly presented in the provided abstracts. However, several studies explored its role in various disease-related contexts. In multiple system atrophy, no significant association was found between ELOVL7 coding variants and disease risk [1]. In M1-like macrophages, increased ELOVL7 expression contributes to the production of inflammatory cytokines, suggesting it as a novel pro-inflammatory gene [2]. In liver fibrosis, ELOVL7 was upregulated in different liver injury models and could accurately predict advanced liver fibrosis, potentially being involved in hepatic stellate cell activation and the TGFβ signaling pathway [3]. In goat mammary epithelial cells, it plays a role in the synthesis of long-chain unsaturated fatty acids [4]. In Crohn's disease, ELOVL7 intronic regions were associated with adalimumab treatment response [5]. In glioblastoma multiforme tumors, its expression was lower in women than in men [6]. In prostate cancer, knockdown of ELOVL7 attenuated cell growth, indicating its involvement in cancer growth through saturated long-chain fatty acid metabolism [7]. In human cytomegalovirus infection, ELOVL7 is induced by the virus and is pivotal for efficient virus replication [10].

In conclusion, Elovl7 is mainly involved in fatty acid synthesis and metabolism. Its dysregulation is associated with multiple disease conditions such as inflammation-related diseases, liver fibrosis, prostate cancer, and viral infections. Although no KO/CKO mouse model-specific contributions were given, these studies collectively reveal its essential biological functions and its potential as a therapeutic target in relevant disease areas.

References:

1. Wernick, Anna I, Walton, Ronald L, Soto-Beasley, Alexandra I, Dickson, Dennis W, Ross, Owen A. 2021. Investigating ELOVL7 coding variants in multiple system atrophy. In Neuroscience letters, 749, 135723. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2021.135723. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33600908/

2. Inoue, Yuki, Kamiya, Tetsuro, Hara, Hirokazu. 2023. Increased expression of ELOVL7 contributes to production of inflammatory cytokines in THP-1 cell-derived M1-like macrophages. In Journal of clinical biochemistry and nutrition, 72, 215-224. doi:10.3164/jcbn.22-69. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37251958/

3. Wang, W-M, Yang, Z-G, Liu, C, Dong, Q. . ELOVL fatty acid elongase 7 (ELOVL7), upregulated by Mdr2-knockout, predicts advanced liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B. In European review for medical and pharmacological sciences, 27, 1954-1970. doi:10.26355/eurrev_202303_31560. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36930494/

4. Shi, Hengbo, Wang, Li, Luo, Jun, Loor, Juan J, Liu, Hongyun. 2019. Fatty Acid Elongase 7 (ELOVL7) Plays a Role in the Synthesis of Long-Chain Unsaturated Fatty Acids in Goat Mammary Epithelial Cells. In Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 9, . doi:10.3390/ani9060389. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31242694/

5. Gorenjak, Mario, Zupin, Mateja, Jezernik, Gregor, Skok, Pavel, Potočnik, Uroš. 2021. Omics data integration identifies ELOVL7 and MMD gene regions as novel loci for adalimumab response in patients with Crohn's disease. In Scientific reports, 11, 5449. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-84909-z. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33750834/

6. Korbecki, Jan, Simińska, Donata, Jeżewski, Dariusz, Chlubek, Dariusz, Baranowska-Bosiacka, Irena. 2022. Glioblastoma Multiforme Tumors in Women Have a Lower Expression of Fatty Acid Elongases ELOVL2, ELOVL5, ELOVL6, and ELOVL7 than in Men. In Brain sciences, 12, . doi:10.3390/brainsci12101356. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36291290/

7. Tamura, Kenji, Makino, Asami, Hullin-Matsuda, Françoise, Nakamura, Yusuke, Nakagawa, Hidewaki. 2009. Novel lipogenic enzyme ELOVL7 is involved in prostate cancer growth through saturated long-chain fatty acid metabolism. In Cancer research, 69, 8133-40. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-09-0775. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19826053/

8. Naganuma, Tatsuro, Sato, Yuichiro, Sassa, Takayuki, Ohno, Yusuke, Kihara, Akio. 2011. Biochemical characterization of the very long-chain fatty acid elongase ELOVL7. In FEBS letters, 585, 3337-41. doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2011.09.024. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21959040/

9. Mah, Min-Qian, Kuah, Meng-Kiat, Ting, Seng Yeat, Jaya-Ram, Annette, Shu-Chien, Alexander Chong. 2019. Molecular cloning, phylogenetic analysis and functional characterisation of an Elovl7-like elongase from a marine crustacean, the orange mud crab (Scylla olivacea). In Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part B, Biochemistry & molecular biology, 232, 60-71. doi:10.1016/j.cbpb.2019.01.011. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30831207/

10. Purdy, John G, Shenk, Thomas, Rabinowitz, Joshua D. 2015. Fatty acid elongase 7 catalyzes lipidome remodeling essential for human cytomegalovirus replication. In Cell reports, 10, 1375-85. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2015.02.003. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25732827/