Aspartate Transaminase - Isozymes

Isozymes

Two isoenzymes are present in a wide variety of eukaryotes. In humans:

• GOT1/cAST, the cytosolic isoenzyme derives mainly from red blood cells and heart.
• GOT2/mAST, the mitochondrial isoenzyme is present predominantly in liver.

These isoenzymes are thought to have evolved from a common ancestral AST via gene duplication, and they share a sequence homology of approximately 45%.

AST has also been found in a number of microorganisms, including E. coli, H. mediterranei, and T. thermophilus. In E. coli, the enzyme is encoded by the aspCgene and has also been shown to exhibit the activity of an aromatic-amino-acid transaminase (EC 2.6.1.57).