TMEM68

gene
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Also known as FLJ32370DIESL

Summary

TMEM68 (transmembrane protein 68, HGNC:26510) is a protein-coding gene on chromosome 8q12.1, encoding DGAT1/2-independent enzyme synthesizing storage lipids (Q96MH6). Catalytic subunit of the alternative triglyceride biosynthesis pathway, which mediates formation of triacylglycerol from diacylglycerol and membrane phospholipids.

Enables phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase activity. Involved in triglyceride biosynthetic process. Is active in endoplasmic reticulum membrane.

Source: NCBI Gene 137695 — RefSeq curated summary.

At a glance

  • GWAS associations: 2
  • Clinical variants (ClinVar): 39 total
  • MANE Select transcript: NM_001286657

Identifiers

Gene identifiers

FieldValue
HGNC IDHGNC:26510
Approved symbolTMEM68
Nametransmembrane protein 68
Location8q12.1
Locus typegene with protein product
StatusApproved
AliasesFLJ32370, DIESL
Ensembl geneENSG00000167904
Ensembl biotypeprotein_coding
Entrez137695

Gene structure

Transcript identifiers

Ensembl transcripts: 24 — 19 protein_coding, 3 nonsense_mediated_decay, 2 retained_intron

ENST00000334667, ENST00000434581, ENST00000517576, ENST00000519460, ENST00000519780, ENST00000519784, ENST00000520061, ENST00000520414, ENST00000521229, ENST00000522030, ENST00000522090, ENST00000522470, ENST00000522576, ENST00000523073, ENST00000523180, ENST00000523423, ENST00000524121, ENST00000617782, ENST00000881274, ENST00000881275, ENST00000881276, ENST00000881277, ENST00000939843, ENST00000939844

RefSeq mRNA: 6 — MANE Select: NM_001286657 NM_001286657, NM_001286660, NM_001286661, NM_001363176, NM_001363177, NM_152417

CCDS: CCDS6161, CCDS75740, CCDS75741, CCDS75742

Canonical transcript exons

ENST00000434581 — 8 exons

ExonStartEnd
ENSE000011181975576393655763980
ENSE000011181995576263555763028
ENSE000015999545574506155745121
ENSE000020973545577326955773378
ENSE000035529745575624455756411
ENSE000036285985573875855740218
ENSE000036556675575096455751157
ENSE000037867215574348155743620

Expression profiles

Bgee: expression breadth ubiquitous, 239 present calls, max score 91.18.

FANTOM5 (CAGE): breadth ubiquitous, TPM avg 13.6292 / max 227.7270, expressed in 1774 samples.

FANTOM5 promoters (4 alternative TSS)

Promoter IDTPM avgSamples expressed
9310512.20381762
931061.0254740
931030.214364
931070.185751

Top tissues by expression

251 total, by Bgee expression score (0-100, higher = more expressed):

TissueAnatomy IDExpression scoreQuality
right uterine tubeUBERON:000130291.18gold quality
bronchial epithelial cellCL:000232890.80gold quality
bronchusUBERON:000218589.56gold quality
mucosa of paranasal sinusUBERON:000503089.07gold quality
islet of LangerhansUBERON:000000689.04gold quality
olfactory segment of nasal mucosaUBERON:000538688.60gold quality
calcaneal tendonUBERON:000370188.41gold quality
ventricular zoneUBERON:000305388.25gold quality
ganglionic eminenceUBERON:000402388.23gold quality
oviduct epitheliumUBERON:000480486.57gold quality
rectumUBERON:000105286.18gold quality
adrenal tissueUBERON:001830385.97gold quality
primordial germ cell in gonadCL:0000670 ∩ UBERON:000099185.52gold quality
cortical plateUBERON:000534385.35gold quality
stromal cell of endometriumCL:000225585.31gold quality
fallopian tubeUBERON:000388985.21gold quality
secondary oocyteCL:000065584.87gold quality
male germ line stem cell (sensu Vertebrata) in testisCL:0000089 ∩ UBERON:000047384.41gold quality
pancreasUBERON:000126483.62gold quality
skin of abdomenUBERON:000141683.45gold quality
right adrenal gland cortexUBERON:003582783.21gold quality
colonic epitheliumUBERON:000039782.81gold quality
right adrenal glandUBERON:000123382.78gold quality
gall bladderUBERON:000211082.63gold quality
left adrenal glandUBERON:000123482.62gold quality
smooth muscle tissueUBERON:000113582.54gold quality
left adrenal gland cortexUBERON:003582582.37gold quality
adrenal glandUBERON:000236982.34gold quality
bone marrow cellCL:000209282.33gold quality
mucosa of transverse colonUBERON:000499182.12gold quality

Single-cell (SCXA)

Detected in 1 experiment(s), a significant marker in 1.

ExperimentMarker?Max mean expression
E-ANND-3no0.00

Regulation

Is transcription factor: no

miRNA regulators (miRDB)

88 targeting TMEM68, top 30 by miRDB confidence (max_score; target_count = how many genes the miRNA targets in total — lower means more specific):

miRNAMax scoreAvg scoremiRNA target_count
HSA-MIR-5692A100.0074.406850
HSA-MIR-8485100.0077.574731
HSA-MIR-4795-3P100.0074.624024
HSA-MIR-4510100.0066.602050
HSA-MIR-6127100.0066.762188
HSA-MIR-6129100.0066.462080
HSA-MIR-6130100.0066.692012
HSA-MIR-6133100.0066.482064
HSA-MIR-1277-5P100.0073.955056
HSA-MIR-548AW99.9972.573559
HSA-MIR-453199.9969.703181
HSA-MIR-477599.9875.006394
HSA-MIR-1213699.9872.815713
HSA-MIR-27A-3P99.9872.132955
HSA-MIR-27B-3P99.9872.132955
HSA-MIR-998599.9872.112939
HSA-MIR-480399.9871.993117
HSA-MIR-590-3P99.9674.346478
HSA-MIR-1468-3P99.9672.743797
HSA-MIR-23A-3P99.9574.243163
HSA-MIR-23B-3P99.9574.243163
HSA-MIR-23C99.9573.923192
HSA-MIR-314399.9371.963104
HSA-MIR-4760-3P99.9370.502385
HSA-MIR-129799.9173.413162
HSA-MIR-3529-3P99.9073.553045
HSA-MIR-394199.8670.542735
HSA-MIR-659-3P99.8570.691620
HSA-MIR-548AZ-5P99.8369.943230
HSA-MIR-548T-5P99.8369.913220

Literature-anchored findings (GeneRIF, showing 2)

  • Transmembrane Protein 68 Functions as an MGAT and DGAT Enzyme for Triacylglycerol Biosynthesis. (PMID:36768334)
  • Identification of an alternative triglyceride biosynthesis pathway. (PMID:37648867)

Cross-species orthologs

5 orthologs

OrganismSymbolGene ID
danio_reriotmem68ENSDARG00000086737
mus_musculusTmem68ENSMUSG00000028232
rattus_norvegicusTmem68ENSRNOG00000008872
drosophila_melanogasterCG34348FBGN0085377
caenorhabditis_elegansWBGENE00021394

Protein

Protein identifiers

DGAT1/2-independent enzyme synthesizing storage lipidsQ96MH6 (reviewed: Q96MH6)

Alternative names: 2-acylglycerol/1,2-diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase, Monoacylglycerol/Diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase, Transmembrane protein 68

All UniProt accessions (11): E5RGT2, E5RHI6, E5RHU1, E5RHZ2, E5RJ96, E5RJI9, E5RJN2, Q96MH6, H0YAX4, H0YAY9, H0YC64

UniProt curated annotations — full annotation on UniProt →

Function. Catalytic subunit of the alternative triglyceride biosynthesis pathway, which mediates formation of triacylglycerol from diacylglycerol and membrane phospholipids. Synthesizes triacylglycerol at the expense of membrane phospholipids, such as phosphatidylcholine (PC) and its ether-linked form (ePC), thereby altering the composition of membranes. The alternative triglyceride biosynthesis pathway is probably required to provide the energy required for rapid growth when fuel sources are limiting. It maintains mitochondrial function during periods of extracellular lipid starvation. Can also use acyl-CoA as donor: acts as a acyl-CoA:monoacylglycerol acyltransferase (MGAT), but also shows acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) activity.

Subcellular location. Endoplasmic reticulum membrane.

Activity regulation. Acyltransferase activity is specifically inhibited by TMX1 at the endoplasmic reticulum, restricting accumulation of triacylglycerol.

Similarity. Belongs to the diacylglycerol acyltransferase family. Highly divergent.

Isoforms (3)

UniProt IDNamesCanonical?
Q96MH6-11yes
Q96MH6-22
Q96MH6-33

RefSeq proteins (6): NP_001273586, NP_001273589, NP_001273590, NP_001350105, NP_001350106, NP_689630 (=MANE)

Domains & families (InterPro)

IDNameType
IPR002123Plipid/glycerol_acylTrfaseDomain

Pfam: PF01553

Catalyzed reactions (Rhea), 6 shown:

  • an acyl-CoA + a 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol = a triacyl-sn-glycerol + CoA (RHEA:10868)
  • a 2-acylglycerol + an acyl-CoA = a 1,2-diacylglycerol + CoA (RHEA:16741)
  • 1,2-di-(9Z-octadecenoyl)-sn-glycerol + (9Z)-octadecenoyl-CoA = 1,2,3-tri-(9Z-octadecenoyl)-glycerol + CoA (RHEA:38219)
  • 2-(9Z-octadecenoyl)-glycerol + (9Z)-octadecenoyl-CoA = 1,2-di-(9Z-octadecenoyl)-glycerol + CoA (RHEA:39951)
  • a 1,2-diacylglycerol + a 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine = a triacylglycerol + a 1-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (RHEA:77743)
  • a 1-O-alkyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine + a 1,2-diacylglycerol = a 1-O-alkyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine + a triacylglycerol (RHEA:77759)

UniProt features (12 total): topological domain 3, splice variant 3, transmembrane region 2, chain 1, mutagenesis site 1, active site 1, glycosylation site 1

Structure

Experimental structures (PDB)

0 structures.

Predicted structure (AlphaFold)

ModelpLDDTFraction very-high
AF-Q96MH6-F188.030.61

Functional residue map

Curated UniProt residues grouped by drug-discovery relevance — catalytic, ligand-binding, modification, and mutation-validated positions. Source: UniProtKB sequence features.

Catalytic / active sites (1): 130

Glycosylation sites (1): 5

Mutagenesis-validated functional residues (1):

PositionPhenotype
130abolished acyltransferase activity.

Function

Pathways and Gene Ontology

Reactome pathways

0 pathways

MSigDB gene sets: 152 (showing top): GOBP_GLYCEROLIPID_METABOLIC_PROCESS, GOBP_GLYCEROLIPID_BIOSYNTHETIC_PROCESS, GOBP_NEUTRAL_LIPID_BIOSYNTHETIC_PROCESS, GOBP_LIPID_METABOLIC_PROCESS, GOBP_NEUTRAL_LIPID_METABOLIC_PROCESS, GOBP_LIPID_BIOSYNTHETIC_PROCESS, BURTON_ADIPOGENESIS_12, AP2_Q6_01, GOCC_NUCLEAR_OUTER_MEMBRANE_ENDOPLASMIC_RETICULUM_MEMBRANE_NETWORK, SCGGAAGY_ELK1_02, GOCC_ORGANELLE_SUBCOMPARTMENT, GOMF_ACYLGLYCEROL_O_ACYLTRANSFERASE_ACTIVITY, GOMF_ACYLTRANSFERASE_ACTIVITY, GOMF_O_ACYLTRANSFERASE_ACTIVITY, VECCHI_GASTRIC_CANCER_EARLY_UP

GO Biological Process (2): triglyceride biosynthetic process (GO:0019432), lipid metabolic process (GO:0006629)

GO Molecular Function (5): 2-acylglycerol O-acyltransferase activity (GO:0003846), diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase activity (GO:0004144), phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase activity (GO:0046027), transferase activity (GO:0016740), acyltransferase activity (GO:0016746)

GO Cellular Component (3): endoplasmic reticulum membrane (GO:0005789), membrane (GO:0016020), endoplasmic reticulum (GO:0005783)

GO top-level categories

Rollup of top GO terms by namespace:

CategoryTerms
acylglycerol O-acyltransferase activity2
triglyceride metabolic process1
acylglycerol biosynthetic process1
primary metabolic process1
acyltransferase activity, transferring groups other than amino-acyl groups1
catalytic activity1
transferase activity1
organelle membrane1
nuclear outer membrane-endoplasmic reticulum membrane network1
endoplasmic reticulum subcompartment1
cellular anatomical structure1
cytoplasm1
endomembrane system1
intracellular membrane-bounded organelle1

Protein interactions and networks

STRING

1366 interactions, top by confidence (×1000):

Protein AProtein BPartner UniProtScore
TMEM68XKR4Q5GH76790
TMEM68CHCHD7Q9BUK0686
TMEM68SDR16C5Q8N3Y7662
TMEM68FAM110BQ8TC76619
TMEM68PLAG1Q6DJT9593
TMEM68SMIM17P0DL12558
TMEM68RPUSD4Q96CM3474
TMEM68RPS20P17075474
TMEM68LYPLA1O75608473
TMEM68KCNJ14Q9UNX9472
TMEM68NUDCD3Q8IVD9453
TMEM68BPNT2Q9NX62425
TMEM68TPM3P06753424
TMEM68KLHL38Q2WGJ6414
TMEM68SLC68A1Q14CX5390

IntAct

42 interactions, top by confidence:

ABTypeScore
C3AR1TMEM120Bpsi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.530
ADGRG5KLRG2psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.530
ZNRF4UPK3BL1psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.530
LYPD6PLXNB2psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.530
REEP5SCAMP1psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.530
CD63LGALS8psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.530
REEP5PLSCR1psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.530
CLEC2DTMEM120Bpsi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
PACC1DEGS1psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
RTN4SCAMP1psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
TMEM223psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
IGHMESYT2psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
TTMPTMEM223psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
TTYH1TMEM223psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
TSPAN15TMEM223psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
CMTM5TMEM120Bpsi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
TNFSF18TMEM120Bpsi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
CD53RAP1BLpsi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
TMEM169GPR89Apsi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
GCGRGPR89Apsi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
OR6T1PSMD11psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
TSPAN8TP53I11psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
PACC1TNPO2psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
OR2M7MARCHF6psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
TMEM154VPS26Apsi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350
FUNDC2ALDH1A1psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350

BioGRID (51): TMEM68 (Affinity Capture-MS), TMEM68 (Affinity Capture-MS), TMEM68 (Affinity Capture-MS), TMEM68 (Affinity Capture-MS), TMEM68 (Affinity Capture-MS), TMEM68 (Affinity Capture-MS), TMEM68 (Affinity Capture-MS), TMEM68 (Affinity Capture-MS), TMEM68 (Affinity Capture-MS), TMEM68 (Affinity Capture-MS), TMEM68 (Proximity Label-MS), TMEM68 (Negative Genetic), TMEM68 (Affinity Capture-MS), TMEM68 (Affinity Capture-MS), TMEM68 (Affinity Capture-MS)

ESM2 similar proteins: A0A0M4FCN7, A7M6E7, A7M6E8, B4G0F3, B8BKI7, C6JS30, E0CTF3, F4JJJ3, K7K424, K7PEY4, O23617, O48780, O80437, O80738, Q0VCR6, Q0WUI9, Q1LWG4, Q2R483, Q4V9F0, Q5FVP8, Q5XF03, Q5ZJD8, Q6P342, Q6PAZ3, Q70VZ8, Q7L5N7, Q8BYI6, Q8K3K7, Q8L7M0, Q8S8S2, Q94A08, Q94AH8, Q96MH6, Q96PD7, Q9ASU1, Q9C6L5, Q9CAY3, Q9D1E8, Q9D850, Q9DCV3

Diamond homologs: Q0VCR6, Q5ZJD8, Q96MH6, Q9D850

SIGNOR signaling

0 interactions.

Disease & clinical

Clinical variants and AI predictions

ClinVar

39 variants total. Per-class counts are floors (≥ shown; pagination cap):

ClassificationCount (floor)
Pathogenic0
Likely pathogenic0
Uncertain significance29
Likely benign1
Benign0

Top pathogenic / likely-pathogenic (0)

SpliceAI

1154 predictions. Top by Δscore:

VariantEffectΔscore
8:55740216:CGT:Cacceptor_gain1.0000
8:55740219:C:CCacceptor_gain1.0000
8:55743476:TTTA:Tdonor_loss1.0000
8:55743477:TTA:Tdonor_loss1.0000
8:55743478:TAC:Tdonor_loss1.0000
8:55743479:A:Tdonor_loss1.0000
8:55743616:TAACC:Tacceptor_gain1.0000
8:55745059:A:ACdonor_gain1.0000
8:55745060:C:CCdonor_gain1.0000
8:55745118:TGGG:Tacceptor_gain1.0000
8:55745122:C:CCacceptor_gain1.0000
8:55750957:AACTC:Adonor_loss1.0000
8:55750958:ACT:Adonor_loss1.0000
8:55750959:CTCAC:Cdonor_loss1.0000
8:55750960:TCA:Tdonor_loss1.0000
8:55750961:CAC:Cdonor_loss1.0000
8:55750963:C:CGdonor_loss1.0000
8:55750963:CCA:Cdonor_gain1.0000
8:55751156:CC:Cacceptor_gain1.0000
8:55751157:CC:Cacceptor_gain1.0000
8:55740218:TC:Tacceptor_loss0.9900
8:55740219:C:CGacceptor_loss0.9900
8:55740220:T:Aacceptor_loss0.9900
8:55740222:T:TCacceptor_gain0.9900
8:55743479:A:ACdonor_gain0.9900
8:55743480:C:CCdonor_gain0.9900
8:55743617:AACC:Aacceptor_gain0.9900
8:55743618:ACC:Aacceptor_gain0.9900
8:55743619:CC:Cacceptor_gain0.9900
8:55743619:CCC:Cacceptor_gain0.9900

AlphaMissense

2130 scored. Top likely-pathogenic:

VariantProtein changeam_pathogenicity
8:55743566:C:TG268E0.999
8:55745104:A:CF235L0.999
8:55745104:A:TF235L0.999
8:55745106:A:GF235L0.999
8:55750991:A:CF220L0.999
8:55750991:A:TF220L0.999
8:55750993:A:GF220L0.999
8:55762662:A:GW100R0.999
8:55762662:A:TW100R0.999
8:55745096:T:AN238I0.998
8:55750980:G:TA224E0.998
8:55750989:G:TA221D0.998
8:55751009:C:AW214C0.998
8:55751009:C:GW214C0.998
8:55751011:A:GW214R0.998
8:55751011:A:TW214R0.998
8:55751044:C:GA203P0.998
8:55751058:C:TG198D0.998
8:55751061:G:TP197Q0.998
8:55751091:A:GL187P0.998
8:55756267:T:AD157V0.998
8:55756330:T:AD136V0.998
8:55756345:C:TG131E0.998
8:55762641:A:GW107R0.998
8:55762641:A:TW107R0.998
8:55762671:C:GA97P0.998
8:55745095:A:CN238K0.997
8:55745095:A:TN238K0.997
8:55750972:C:GA227P0.997
8:55750992:A:GF220S0.997

dbSNP variants (sampled 300 via entrez): RS1000108739 (8:55743947 C>A,T), RS1000156856 (8:55774536 T>A), RS1000233448 (8:55755701 A>G), RS1000282849 (8:55756979 T>C), RS1000608617 (8:55753801 T>A), RS1000667405 (8:55755470 C>G,T), RS1000691141 (8:55763028 A>G), RS1000703839 (8:55762535 T>C), RS1000884636 (8:55755500 G>A), RS1000884883 (8:55767582 A>G), RS1000974180 (8:55754137 T>C), RS1000990714 (8:55769956 C>A,T), RS1000998422 (8:55760489 T>A,C), RS1001126636 (8:55742179 T>C), RS1001187137 (8:55751446 A>C,T)

Disease associations

OMIM: gene `` | disease phenotypes:

GenCC curated gene-disease

Mondo (0):

Orphanet (0):

HPO phenotypes

0 total (0 of 0 shown, HPO-id order):

GWAS associations

2 associations (top):

StudyTraitp-value
GCST002458_1Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone levels2.000000e-10
GCST004136_29Methadone dose in opioid dependence6.000000e-06

EFO canonical traits (1, from GWAS)

EFO IDTrait name
EFO:0007907methadone dose measurement

Drugs & pharmacology

Drug and pharmacology data

Is drug target: no

PharmGKB: 1 entry (VIP=true, CPIC=false)

CTD chemical–gene interactions

29 total (human), top 29 by PubMed support.

ChemicalActions (top 5)PubMed papers
Valproic Acidaffects expression, decreases expression5
Benzo(a)pyreneincreases expression, increases mutagenesis3
sodium arseniteincreases expression, affects cotreatment, increases abundance2
Air Pollutantsdecreases expression, increases abundance, increases expression2
Aflatoxin B1increases expression2
Particulate Matterdecreases expression, increases abundance, increases expression2
dicrotophosdecreases expression1
methylmercuric chloridedecreases expression1
triphenyl phosphateaffects expression1
trichostatin Adecreases expression1
manganese chlorideincreases abundance, increases expression, affects cotreatment1
di-n-butylphosphoric acidaffects expression1
CGP 52608affects binding, increases reaction1
jinfukangdecreases expression1
Sunitinibincreases expression1
Vorinostatincreases expression1
Acetaminophenincreases expression1
Amiodaroneincreases expression1
Arsenicincreases abundance, increases expression, affects cotreatment1
Cisplatinincreases expression1
Ethyl Methanesulfonateincreases expression1
Formaldehydeincreases expression1
Manganeseincreases abundance, increases expression, affects cotreatment1
Methyl Methanesulfonateincreases expression1
Quercetinincreases expression1
Testosteronedecreases expression1
Tetrachlorodibenzodioxindecreases expression1
Tretinoindecreases expression1
7,8-Dihydro-7,8-dihydroxybenzo(a)pyrene 9,10-oxidedecreases expression1

Clinical trials (associated diseases)

0 trials via MONDO — disease-level, not drug-specific.

No linked Atlas pages yet — the cross-entity mesh grows as the corpus expands.