Pancreatic Lipase

Pancreatic Lipase

Identifiers Symbols PNLIP; PL; PNLIPD; PTL External IDs OMIM: 246600 MGI: 97722 HomoloGene: 30999 ChEMBL: 1812 GeneCards: PNLIP Gene EC number 3.1.1.3

Gene Ontology
Molecular function	• triglyceride lipase activity • metal ion binding • retinyl-palmitate esterase activity
Cellular component	• extracellular region • extracellular space
Biological process	• retinoid metabolic process • lipid metabolic process • steroid metabolic process • post-embryonic development • lipid catabolic process • intestinal cholesterol absorption • response to lipid • response to peptide hormone stimulus • lipid digestion • small molecule metabolic process
Sources: Amigo / QuickGO

Orthologs Species Human Mouse Entrez 5406 69060 Ensembl ENSG00000175535 ENSMUSG00000046008 UniProt P16233 Q6P8U6 RefSeq (mRNA) NM_000936.2 NM_026925.3 RefSeq (protein) NP_000927.1 NP_081201.2 Location (UCSC) Chr 10:
118.31 – 118.33 Mb Chr 19:
58.67 – 58.68 Mb PubMed search

Pancreatic lipase, also known as pancreatic triacylglycerol lipase, is secreted from the pancreas, and is the primary lipase (enzyme) that hydrolyzes (breaks down) dietary fat molecules in the human digestive system, converting triglyceride substrates found in ingested oils to monoglycerides and free fatty acids.

Triacylglycerol + 2 H₂O 2-monoacylglycerol + 2 fatty acid anions

Bile salts secreted from the liver and stored in gallbladder are released into the duodenum where they coat and emulsify large fat droplets into smaller droplets, thus increasing the overall surface area of the fat, which allows the lipase to break apart the fat more effectively. The resulting monomers (2 free fatty acids and one 2-monoacylglycerol) are then moved by way of peristalsis along the small intestine to be absorbed into the lymphatic system by a specialized vessel called a lacteal. This protein belongs to pancreatic lipase family.

Unlike some pancreatic enzymes that are activated by proteolytic cleavage (e.g. trypsinogen), pancreatic lipase is secreted in its final form. However it only becomes efficient in the presence of colipase in the duodenum.

In humans, pancreatic lipase is encoded by the PNLIP gene.