CITRATE LYASE POLY PEPTIDES

摘要

The present invention relates to citrate lyase polypeptides and to nucleic acid molecules coding for such polypeptides. Citrate lyase is transcriptionally regulated in adipose tissue, suggesting involvement in a novel pathway in energy expenditure, downstream of fatty acid metabolism. This makes CitE an attractive drug target for treating and/or preventing diseases such as obesity. Accordingly, the invention refers to the novel mammalian CitE-polypeptide, as well as homologs and functionally equivalent variants thereof. Further, the invention refers to the nucleic acid sequence encoding the novel protein and to vectors for expressing the protein in various organisms. The invention also refers to methods for expressing the protein in said organisms and for purifying the protein upon overexpression. Moreover, the invention refers to a method wherein CitE is used for screening for substances that affect the activity of CitE.