ATPAF2

ATP synthase mitochondrial F1 complex assembly factor 2 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ATPAF2 gene. This gene encodes an assembly factor for the F(1) component of the mitochondrial ATP synthase. This protein binds specifically to the F1 alpha subunit and is thought to prevent this subunit from forming nonproductive homooligomers during enzyme assembly. This gene is located within the Smith-Magenis syndrome region on chromosome 17. An alternatively spliced transcript variant has been described, but its biological validity has not been determined.

Model organisms

Atpaf2 knockout mouse phenotype

Characteristic	Phenotype
Homozygote viability	Abnormal
Recessive lethal study	Abnormal
Fertility	Normal
Body weight	Normal
Anxiety	Normal
Neurological assessment	Normal
Grip strength	Normal
Hot plate	Normal
Dysmorphology	Normal
Indirect calorimetry	Normal
Glucose tolerance test	Normal
Auditory brainstem response	Normal
DEXA	Normal
Radiography	Abnormal
Body temperature	Normal
Eye morphology	Normal
Clinical chemistry	Normal
Haematology	Normal
Peripheral blood lymphocytes	Normal
Micronucleus test	Normal
Heart weight	Normal
Skin Histopathology	Normal
Brain histopathology	Normal
Eye Histopathology	Normal
Salmonella infection	Normal
Citrobacter infection	Normal
All tests and analysis from

Model organisms have been used in the study of ATPAF2 function. A conditional knockout mouse line, called Atpaf2^{tm1a(KOMP)Wtsi} was generated as part of the International Knockout Mouse Consortium program — a high-throughput mutagenesis project to generate and distribute animal models of disease to interested scientists.

Male and female animals underwent a standardized phenotypic screen to determine the effects of deletion. Twenty six tests were carried out on mutant mice and three significant abnormalities were observed. No homozygous mutant embryos were identified during gestation, and therefore none survived until weaning. The remaining tests were carried out on heterozygous mutant adult mice; males had abnormal vertebrae morphology.