Aralkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) (EC2.3.1.87), also known as arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase or serotonin N-acetyltransferase (SNAT), is an enzyme that is involved in the day/night rhythmic production of melatonin, by modification of serotonin. It is in humans encoded by the ~2.5 kb AANAT gene[2] containing four exons, located on chromosome 17q25.[3] The gene is translated into a 23 kDa large enzyme. It is well conserved through evolution and the human form of the protein is 80 percent identical to sheep and rat AANAT. It is an acetyl-CoA-dependent enzyme of the GCN5-related family of N-acetyltransferases (GNATs). It may contribute to multifactorial genetic diseases such as altered behavior in sleep/wake cycle[2] and research is on-going with the aim of developing drugs that regulate AANAT function.
^PDB: 1KUX; Wolf E, De Angelis J, Khalil EM, Cole PA, Burley SK (March 2002). "X-ray crystallographic studies of serotonin N-acetyltransferase catalysis and inhibition". J. Mol. Biol. 317 (2): 215–24. doi:10.1006/jmbi.2001.5371. PMID11902838.
^Coon SL, Mazuruk K, Bernard M, Roseboom PH, Klein DC, Rodriguez IR (May 1996). "The human serotonin N-acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.87) gene (AANAT): structure, chromosomal localization, and tissue expression". Genomics. 34 (1): 76–84. doi:10.1006/geno.1996.0243. PMID8661026.