Elovl7, also known as Elongation of Very Long Fatty Acids Protein 7, is a key enzyme in the synthesis of very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs). It participates in fatty acid synthesis and metabolism pathways, which are crucial for various biological functions such as maintaining cell membrane integrity, energy storage, and cell-cell signaling [3,4,7,8]. Genetic models can be valuable for studying its function.

In multiple system atrophy, coding variants in ELOVL7 were found to be extremely rare and not significantly associated with the disease risk [1]. In THP-1 cell-derived M1-like macrophages, increased ELOVL7 expression contributes to the production of inflammatory cytokines, and its upregulation is related to NF-κB activation [2]. ELOVL7, upregulated by Mdr2-knockout, can predict advanced liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B patients and may be involved in hepatic stellate cell activation and the TGFβ signaling pathway [3]. In goat mammary epithelial cells, ELOVL7 plays a role in the synthesis of long-chain unsaturated fatty acids [4]. In Crohn's disease, ELOVL7 gene regions are associated with adalimumab response [5]. In glioblastoma multiforme tumors, ELOVL7 expression is lower in women than in men, and hypoxia decreases its expression in U-87 MG cells [6]. In prostate cancer, ELOVL7 is overexpressed, and its knockdown attenuates cancer cell growth, being involved in saturated very-long-chain fatty acid metabolism [7]. In human cytomegalovirus infection, ELOVL7 is induced by the virus, and its knockdown impairs virus replication [9].

In conclusion, Elovl7 is essential for fatty acid synthesis and metabolism, influencing various biological processes and disease conditions. Studies using gene-knockout or similar models have provided insights into its role in diseases like multiple system atrophy, liver fibrosis, and cancer, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target or biomarker in these 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. 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/