Glycogen Debranching Enzyme - Genetic Location

Genetic Location

The official name for the gene is “amylo- α- 1,6- glucosidase, 4- α- glucanotransferase,” with the official symbol AGL. AGL is an autosomal gene found on chromosome lp21. The AGL gene provides instructions for making several different versions, known as isoforms, of the glycogen debranching enzyme. These isoforms vary by size and are expressed in different tissues, such as liver and muscle. This gene has been studied in great detail, because mutation at this gene is the cause of Glycogen Storage Disease Type III. The gene is 85 kb long, has 35 exons and encodes for a 7.0 kb- mRNA. Translation of the gene begins at exon 3,which encodes for the first 27 amino acids of the AGL gene, because the first two exons (68kb) contain the 5’ untranslated region. Exons 4-35 encode the remaining 1505 amino acids of the AGL gene. Studies produced by the department of pediactrics at Duke University suggest that the human AGL gene contains at minimum 2 promotor regions, sites where the transcription of the gene begins, that result in differential expression of isoform, different forms of the same protein, mRNAs in a manner that is specific for different tissues.