Tafazzin/TAZ: Proteins and Enzymes

Tafazzin / TAZ encodes a protein that is expressed at high levels in cardiac and skeletal muscle. Mutations in this gene have been associated with a number of clinical disorders including Barth syndrome, dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), hypertrophic DCM, endocardial fibroelastosis, and left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC). Multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been described. A long form and a short form of each of these isoforms is produced; the short form lacks a hydrophobic leader sequence and may exist as a cytoplasmic protein rather than being membrane-bound. Other alternative transcripts encoding additional isoforms have been described but the full-length nature of these transcripts is not known.