METAP2

The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the methionyl aminopeptidase family. The encoded protein functions both by protecting the alpha subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 from inhibitory phosphorylation and by removing the amino-terminal methionine residue from nascent proteins. Increased expression of this gene is associated with various forms of cancer, and the anti-cancer drugs fumagillin and ovalicin inhibit the protein by irreversibly binding to its active site. Inhibitors of this gene have also been shown to be effective for the treatment of obesity. A pseudogene of this gene is located on chromosome 2. Several transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Nov 2015]

Full Name

Methionyl Aminopeptidase 2

Function

Cotranslationally removes the N-terminal methionine from nascent proteins. The N-terminal methionine is often cleaved when the second residue in the primary sequence is small and uncharged (Met-Ala-, Cys, Gly, Pro, Ser, Thr, or Val). The catalytic activity of human METAP2 toward Met-Val peptides is consistently two orders of magnitude higher than that of METAP1, suggesting that it is responsible for processing proteins containing N-terminal Met-Val and Met-Thr sequences in vivo.

Protects eukaryotic initiation factor EIF2S1 from translation-inhibiting phosphorylation by inhibitory kinases such as EIF2AK2/PKR and EIF2AK1/HCR. Plays a critical role in the regulation of protein synthesis.

Biological Process

N-terminal protein amino acid modification Source: HGNC-UCL
Peptidyl-methionine modification Source: HGNC-UCL
Protein initiator methionine removal Source: UniProtKB-UniRule
Protein processing Source: HGNC-UCL

Cellular Location

Cytoplasm
Note: About 30% of expressed METAP2 associates with polysomes.

PTM

Contains approximately 12 O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) residues. O-glycosylation is required for EIF2S1 binding.