Affinage

ELOVL2

Very long chain fatty acid elongase 2 · UniProt Q9NXB9

Length
296 aa
Mass
34.6 kDa
Annotated
2026-04-28
69 papers in source corpus 22 papers cited in narrative 22 extracted findings

Mechanistic narrative

Synthesis pass · prose summary of the discoveries below

ELOVL2 is a microsomal fatty acid elongase that catalyzes the rate-limiting condensation step in the elongation of C20 and C22 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) to C24 precursors required for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and docosapentaenoic acid n-6 (22:5n-6) synthesis via the Sprecher pathway, with a critical active-site cysteine (C217 in rat) conferring specificity for C22-PUFA substrates (PMID:23873268, PMID:19184219, PMID:24489111). Knockout studies across vertebrates demonstrate that ELOVL2 is non-redundant with ELOVL5 for endogenous DHA production and is essential for male fertility—through synthesis of testicular very-long-chain PUFAs (C24–C30) that maintain membrane fluidity for meiotic chromosome dynamics under AdipoR2 regulation—for retinal homeostasis where age-related promoter hypermethylation silences ELOVL2 causing drusen-like deposits and visual decline, and for hepatic mitochondrial membrane integrity and lipid homeostasis (PMID:21106902, PMID:38485951, PMID:31943697, PMID:35276915). ELOVL2 transcription is activated by ERα through a specific enhancer ERE, by cooperative FOXA1/FOXA2–HNF4α binding at an intronic enhancer, and is epigenetically repressed by MYCN-recruited PRC1 via H2AK119 monoubiquitination (PMID:27788154, PMID:31928966, PMID:31856871). In pancreatic β cells, ELOVL2-derived DHA protects against glucolipotoxicity-induced apoptosis by promoting CPT1-dependent mitochondrial palmitate oxidation (PMID:29754287).

Mechanistic history

Synthesis pass · year-by-year structured walk · 13 steps
  1. 2007 Medium

    Establishing that ELOVL2 overexpression is sufficient to drive triacylglycerol synthesis and lipid droplet accumulation linked its elongase activity to a lipogenic cellular phenotype, but left unresolved whether endogenous ELOVL2 is rate-limiting.

    Evidence Overexpression in 3T3-L1 and F442A preadipocyte cell lines with lipid and gene expression readouts

    PMID:17583696

    Open questions at the time
    • No loss-of-function control to confirm endogenous requirement
    • Overexpression may not reflect physiological substrate levels
    • Mechanism linking elongation products to TAG synthesis not defined
  2. 2009 High

    Heterologous expression demonstrated that ELOVL2 preferentially elongates C20 and C22 PUFAs, defining its substrate specificity and explaining vertebrate capacity for endogenous DHA biosynthesis.

    Evidence Yeast heterologous expression with fatty acid profiling (Atlantic salmon ELOVL2)

    PMID:19184219

    Open questions at the time
    • Mammalian substrate specificity not yet directly tested in this system
    • No structural basis for substrate selectivity
  3. 2010 High

    The first mammalian knockout established that ELOVL2 is essential for testicular VLC-PUFA synthesis and male fertility, revealing haploinsufficiency and a complete spermatogenesis block at the spermatogonia/primary spermatocyte stage.

    Evidence Elovl2 KO and heterozygous mouse; acyl-CoA profiling; histology; dietary DHA rescue

    PMID:21106902

    Open questions at the time
    • Molecular mechanism linking VLC-PUFAs to spermatogonial progression not defined
    • Cell-autonomous versus systemic contribution not separated
  4. 2013 High

    Identification of C217 as the critical residue distinguishing ELOVL2 from ELOVL5 for C22-PUFA elongation provided the first molecular-level explanation for paralog-specific substrate selectivity.

    Evidence Yeast expression of rat ELOVL2/ELOVL5 chimeras and C217 point mutants with fatty acid profiling

    PMID:23873268

    Open questions at the time
    • No crystal structure to explain how C217 shapes the substrate-binding pocket
    • Residue function not tested in mammalian cells
  5. 2014 High

    Hepatic phenotyping of Elovl2-KO mice demonstrated that ELOVL2 is the rate-limiting step for in vivo DHA and DPAn-6 production, and that DHA deficiency feeds back to upregulate SREBP-1c and lipogenic gene expression, paradoxically protecting against steatosis.

    Evidence Elovl2-KO mouse; hepatic lipid composition; SREBP-1c target gene expression; high-fat diet challenge; dietary DHA rescue

    PMID:24489111

    Open questions at the time
    • Mechanism of SREBP-1c activation by DHA deficiency not fully resolved
    • Tissue-specific contributions not dissected
  6. 2016 High

    Evolutionary reconstitution showed that C22-PUFA elongation activity enabling DHA synthesis via the Sprecher pathway emerged specifically in the jawed vertebrate ancestor, coinciding with ELOVL2/ELOVL5 gene duplication.

    Evidence Heterologous yeast expression of amphioxus, lamprey, and elephant shark orthologs; phylogenetic analysis

    PMID:26856376

    Open questions at the time
    • Selective pressures driving functional divergence not characterized
    • Regulatory evolution not addressed
  7. 2016 Medium

    Identification of ERα-dependent transcriptional activation of ELOVL2 via a specific enhancer ERE, and demonstration that maternal/offspring genotype interactions determine perinatal DHA levels, expanded understanding of ELOVL2 regulation and its physiological significance during development.

    Evidence ChIP, siRNA, tamoxifen treatment in MCF7 cells; multi-genotype mouse crosses with dietary manipulation

    PMID:27788154 PMID:27864326

    Open questions at the time
    • ERα-ELOVL2 axis not validated in non-cancer tissue
    • Downstream effectors of perinatal DHA in offspring development not identified
  8. 2018 High

    Mechanistic dissection in β cells showed that ELOVL2-derived DHA protects against glucolipotoxicity by promoting CPT1-dependent mitochondrial palmitate oxidation and reducing ceramide accumulation, placing ELOVL2 in a defined metabolic pathway for β cell survival.

    Evidence siRNA knockdown, adenoviral overexpression, [14C]palmitate oxidation assay, CPT1 overexpression rescue, pharmacological CPT1 inhibition in β cell lines

    PMID:29754287

    Open questions at the time
    • In vivo β cell-specific knockout not performed
    • Whether ELOVL2 loss contributes to type 2 diabetes pathogenesis not tested
  9. 2019 Medium

    MYCN-recruited PRC1 was shown to epigenetically repress ELOVL2 via H2AK119 monoubiquitination in neuroblastoma, and CRISPR knockout of elovl2 in salmon confirmed its non-redundant role in multi-tissue DHA synthesis, together strengthening the picture of ELOVL2 as an epigenetically regulated metabolic gatekeeper.

    Evidence ChIP, IP-MS, xenograft in neuroblastoma cells; CRISPR KO with multi-tissue fatty acid profiling in Atlantic salmon

    PMID:31101849 PMID:31856871

    Open questions at the time
    • PRC1-mediated repression not validated outside MYCN-amplified context
    • Salmon KO was partial (mosaic) knockout
  10. 2020 High

    An enzymatic point mutant (C234W) and pharmacological demethylation in mouse retina demonstrated that ELOVL2 catalytic activity directly controls retinal aging, with loss causing drusen-like sub-RPE deposits, while zebrafish knockouts and comparative analysis confirmed ELOVL2's non-redundancy with ELOVL5 for DHA synthesis and visual function.

    Evidence Elovl2 C234W mutant mouse with ERG, fundus imaging, histology, 5-Aza-dc rescue; zebrafish elovl2/elovl5 CRISPR KO with fatty acid profiling and visual motor reflex

    PMID:31943697 PMID:32880080 PMID:33276584

    Open questions at the time
    • Whether ELOVL2 methylation drives human age-related macular degeneration not established
    • Cell type-specific contribution in retina (RPE versus Müller glia versus photoreceptors) not fully resolved
  11. 2020 Medium

    Cooperative binding of FOXA1/FOXA2 and HNF4α at an intronic enhancer containing rs953413 was shown to regulate allele-specific ELOVL2 expression, revealing a second transcriptional regulatory node beyond ERα.

    Evidence Reporter assay, ChIP, allele-specific binding, CRISPR enhancer mutation, siRNA knockdown in hepatic cell lines

    PMID:31928966

    Open questions at the time
    • Tissue-specific relevance of this enhancer beyond liver not tested
    • Whether rs953413 genotype affects DHA levels in human populations not established
  12. 2022 High

    Elovl2 ablation was shown to remodel liver mitochondrial membrane fatty acid composition, impairing mitochondrial respiration through membrane fluidity-dependent mechanisms involving ANT2, without altering respiratory chain protein content—extending ELOVL2's role beyond DHA supply to organelle membrane integrity.

    Evidence Elovl2-KO mice; mitochondrial membrane lipid profiling; respiration assays; TEM

    PMID:35276915

    Open questions at the time
    • Causal role of specific DHA-containing phospholipid species in mitochondrial dysfunction not pinpointed
    • ANT2 involvement not directly confirmed by ANT2-specific manipulation
  13. 2024 High

    AdipoR2 was placed upstream of ELOVL2 in testis, showing that AdipoR2-dependent VLC-PUFA synthesis maintains nuclear envelope membrane fluidity required for meiotic telomere distribution, homologous synapsis, and intercellular bridge formation—providing a mechanistic link from membrane lipid composition to chromosome dynamics in male meiosis.

    Evidence AdipoR2-KO mice; lipidomics; TEM; meiotic telomere and synapsis assays; gene expression

    PMID:38485951

    Open questions at the time
    • Whether ELOVL2 overexpression can rescue AdipoR2-KO phenotype not tested
    • Direct physical or signaling connection between AdipoR2 and ELOVL2 transcription not characterized

Open questions

Synthesis pass · forward-looking unresolved questions
  • Key open questions include the structural basis for ELOVL2 substrate selectivity, whether ELOVL2 promoter hypermethylation is causally linked to human age-related macular degeneration, and the tissue-specific integration of its multiple transcriptional regulatory inputs (ERα, FOXA/HNF4α, MYCN/PRC1, AdipoR2).
  • No crystal or cryo-EM structure of ELOVL2
  • Human genetic evidence linking ELOVL2 loss-of-function to disease is lacking
  • Integration of multiple regulatory inputs across tissues not modeled

Mechanism profile

Synthesis pass · controlled-vocabulary classification · explore literature graph →
Molecular activity
GO:0016740 transferase activity 5
Localization
GO:0005783 endoplasmic reticulum 2 GO:0005739 mitochondrion 1
Pathway
R-HSA-1430728 Metabolism 7 R-HSA-1474165 Reproduction 2
Partners
ADIPOR1ADIPOR2CPT1AESR1FOXA1FOXA2HNF4AMYCN

Evidence

Reading pass · 22 per-paper findings extracted from the source corpus
Year Finding Method Journal Conf PMIDs
2010 ELOVL2 is required for the elongation of very long-chain n-6 PUFAs (C24–C30) in testis; Elovl2-knockout mice show complete spermatogenesis arrest at the spermatogonia/primary spermatocyte stage, and heterozygous mice exhibit haploinsufficiency with reduced C28:5 and C30:5 n-6 PUFAs, demonstrating that ELOVL2-derived n-6 PUFAs are essential for sperm maturation and male fertility. Elovl2 knockout and heterozygous mouse model; acyl-CoA profiling; histological analysis of seminiferous tubules; dietary DHA supplementation rescue experiment Journal of lipid research High 21106902
2014 ELOVL2 primarily controls elongation of C22 PUFAs to produce C24 precursors for DHA (22:6n-3) and DPAn-6 (22:5n-6) synthesis in vivo; Elovl2-ablated mice show dramatically decreased hepatic and serum DHA and DPAn-6 with accumulation of 22:5n-3 and 22:4n-6. DHA deficiency upregulates SREBP-1c and its downstream lipogenic targets. Elovl2-KO mice are paradoxically resistant to hepatic steatosis and diet-induced weight gain, and fatty acid changes are reversed by dietary DHA supplementation. Elovl2 knockout mouse model; hepatic lipid composition analysis; gene expression of SREBP-1c and target genes; high-fat diet challenge; dietary DHA rescue Journal of lipid research High 24489111
2009 Atlantic salmon ELOVL2 elongates C20 and C22 PUFA substrates (with lower activity toward C18), as demonstrated by heterologous expression in yeast; this activity explains the capacity of salmonids to biosynthesize DHA from dietary precursors. Heterologous expression in yeast; fatty acid profiling Marine biotechnology (New York, N.Y.) High 19184219
2013 The cysteine at position 217 (C217) in rat ELOVL2 is a critical residue that distinguishes its ability to elongate C22 omega-3 PUFA docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22:5n-3) to 24:5n-3 from ELOVL5, which has a tryptophan at the equivalent position. Chimera and point-mutation analyses in a yeast expression system confirmed C217 is essential for DPA substrate specificity. Yeast expression system; Elovl2/Elovl5 chimera construction; site-directed mutagenesis (C217 point mutation); fatty acid profiling Journal of lipid research High 23873268
2020 Age-related decrease in Elovl2 expression in the mouse retina is associated with increased DNA methylation of its promoter. Reversal of Elovl2 promoter hypermethylation by intravitreal injection of 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine increases Elovl2 expression and rescues age-related visual functional decline. A point mutation C234W that disrupts ELOVL2-specific enzymatic activity causes premature visual decline, autofluorescent deposits, and sub-RPE deposits containing drusen components, establishing that ELOVL2 enzymatic activity (PUFA elongation) regulates aging in the mouse retina. Elovl2 C234W point mutant mouse; intravitreal injection of 5-Aza-dc; electroretinography; fundus autofluorescence imaging; histological analysis; promoter methylation analysis Aging cell High 31943697
2007 Overexpression of ELOVL2 in 3T3-L1 and F442A preadipocyte cell lines enhances triacylglycerol synthesis and lipid droplet accumulation, increases incorporation of fatty acids (but not glucose) into TAG, and induces expression of lipogenic genes DGAT2 and FABP4/aP2. Overexpression in preadipocyte cell lines (3T3-L1, F442A); lipid droplet staining; fatty acid/glucose incorporation assay; gene expression analysis FEBS letters Medium 17583696
2009 Diabetes induces a marked decrease in retinal expression of Elovl2 and Elovl4 elongases, which translates into a significant decrease in retinal DHA and very-long-chain PUFA incorporation into phosphatidylcholine, accompanied by increased expression of proinflammatory markers (IL-6, VEGF, ICAM-1). Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model; quantitative RT-PCR; Western blot; reverse-phase HPLC fatty acid profiling; nano-ESI tandem MS phospholipid analysis Diabetes Medium 19875612
2016 Estradiol enhances ELOVL2 expression in MCF7 breast cancer cells specifically through estrogen receptor alpha (ERα): tamoxifen abolishes Elovl2 (but not Elovl5) upregulation; ERα knockdown nearly fully eliminates Elovl2 expression; ChIP demonstrates ERα binds a specific estrogen response element (ERE) within the Elovl2 enhancer in a ligand-dependent manner. Estradiol stimulation; tamoxifen treatment; siRNA knockdown of ERα; chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP); gene expression analysis in MCF7 cells PloS one Medium 27788154
2017 Elovl2 silencing in mouse and human β cell lines decreases glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, establishing a role for ELOVL2 in pancreatic β cell function during metabolic stress. Elovl2 was identified as a hub gene via network-based analysis of multi-strain RNA-seq data correlated with insulin secretion phenotypes. RNA-seq on islets from 6 mouse strains; network-based integrative analysis; Elovl2 siRNA silencing in mouse and human β cell lines; glucose-stimulated insulin secretion assay Molecular metabolism Medium 28377873
2018 ELOVL2/DHA axis protects β cells from glucolipotoxicity-induced apoptosis by promoting palmitate oxidation in mitochondria via a CPT1-dependent mechanism; ELOVL2 downregulation potentiates apoptosis, while adenoviral ELOVL2 overexpression or DHA supplementation partially inhibits apoptosis and reduces ceramide accumulation. Mutated active CPT1 rescues apoptosis when ELOVL2 is downregulated, and CPT1 inhibition abrogates the protective effect. Elovl2 siRNA knockdown; adenoviral overexpression; caspase-3 assay; PARP cleavage; [U-14C]palmitate labeling for oxidation/esterification; ceramide assay by radio-enzymatic method and lipidomics; pharmacological inhibition of AMPK and CPT1; Cpt1 overexpression rescue Diabetologia High 29754287
2019 MYCN recruits Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 (PRC1) to the ELOVL2 locus, catalyzing H2AK119 monoubiquitination and thereby epigenetically repressing ELOVL2 transcription, which reduces DHA synthesis in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cells. Enforced ELOVL2 expression reduces cell growth and counteracts MYCN overexpression both in vitro and in vivo. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP); IP-mass spectrometry; GC-MS fatty acid profiling; ELOVL2 overexpression/knockdown; xenograft mouse model; CCK-8 and soft agar colony formation assays; flow cytometry Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research Medium 31856871
2020 rs953413 in the first intron of ELOVL2 lies within a functional FOXA1/FOXA2 and HNF4α cooperative binding site; the G allele increases binding of these transcription factors to an evolutionarily conserved enhancer element, resulting in allele-specific upregulation of ELOVL2 expression. Knockdown of FOXA1, FOXA2, or HNF4α, and CRISPR/Cas9 mutation of the enhancer, each significantly downregulate ELOVL2 expression. Reporter assay; ChIP; allele-specific transcription factor binding assay; siRNA knockdown of FOXA1/FOXA2/HNF4α; CRISPR/Cas9 enhancer mutation; qRT-PCR iScience Medium 31928966
2021 ADIPOR1 deficiency in mouse retina leads to significant reduction in Elovl2 expression (expressed in photoreceptor inner segments), decreased DHA in photoreceptor outer segment lipids, misaligned outer segments, and photoreceptor dysfunction. Causal relationship between ADIPOR1 deficiency and Elovl2 repression (with upregulation of lipogenic genes) confirmed in vitro, placing ADIPOR1 upstream of ELOVL2 in retinal lipid homeostasis. Adipor1 knockout mice; electroretinography; electron and optical microscopy; lipidomic analysis; mRNA expression; in vitro cell culture confirmation Cell death & disease Medium 33963174
2024 AdipoR2 regulates ELOVL2 both transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally in mouse testes to synthesize VLC-PUFAs essential for membrane fluidity in male meiotic germ cells. AdipoR2 KO depletes VLC-PUFAs and causes palmitic acid accumulation, stiffening the nuclear envelope membrane, impairing nuclear peripheral distribution of meiotic telomeres, causing errors in homologous synapsis and recombination, and disrupting intercellular bridge formation and germ cell syncytium organization. AdipoR2 knockout mice; lipidome analysis; transmission electron microscopy; meiotic telomere distribution assays; homologous synapsis/recombination assays; gene expression analysis Nature communications High 38485951
2021 CRISPR/Cas9-mediated ELOVL2 ablation in renal cancer cells suppresses elongation of long-chain PUFAs, increases lipid droplet production, and induces apoptosis, suppressing cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo, indicating ELOVL2 promotes cancer cell survival through PUFA elongation. CRISPR/Cas9 knockdown; fatty acid profiling; lipid droplet staining; proliferation and apoptosis assays; xenograft mouse model Oncology reports Medium 34841437
2025 ELOVL2 facilitates enzalutamide resistance in castration-resistant prostate cancer by impairing the ubiquitin-proteasome system, leading to stabilization and subsequent activation of androgen receptor (AR) signaling. Targeted inhibition of ELOVL2 suppresses cancer cell proliferation and restores enzalutamide sensitivity. Bioinformatic analysis of enzalutamide-resistant LNCaP cells; targeted ELOVL2 inhibition; proliferation assays; ubiquitin-proteasome pathway assays; AR signaling analysis Frontiers in cell and developmental biology Low 40552308
2019 CRISPR/Cas9-mediated elovl2 knockout in Atlantic salmon demonstrated that elovl2 is essential for multi-tissue synthesis of DHA (22:6n-3) in vivo; elovl2-KO salmon showed reduced DHA with accumulation of EPA (20:5n-3) and DPA (22:5n-3), and impaired DHA synthesis induced hepatic expression of srebp-1, fatty acid synthase-b, Δ6fad, Δ5fad, and elovl5. CRISPR/Cas9 elovl2 partial knockout in Atlantic salmon; multi-tissue fatty acid profiling; hepatic gene expression analysis Scientific reports High 31101849
2020 In zebrafish, Elovl2 (but not Elovl5) is essential for endogenous DHA synthesis; elovl2 knockout reduces DHA by 67% in adult liver and 92% in embryos, while elovl5 knockout does not reduce DHA. Upregulation of elovl2 can completely compensate for elovl5 loss, but upregulation of elovl5 cannot compensate for elovl2 deficiency. CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of elovl2 and elovl5 in zebrafish; comparative fatty acid profiling; gene expression analysis Marine biotechnology (New York, N.Y.) High 32880080
2020 Elovl2 is expressed in Müller glia in embryonic and adult zebrafish retina; elovl2 crispants show significant changes in DHA-containing lipids, increased retinal thickness at day 7, and impaired visual motor reflex (VMR-OFF), establishing a role for Elovl2-mediated DHA synthesis in retinal lipid composition and visual function. Whole-mount in situ hybridization; CRISPR crispant generation; lipidomics; histological analysis; visual motor reflex behavioral assay Cells Medium 33276584
2016 Elovl2 and Elovl5 arose from genome duplications in vertebrate ancestry; the ancestral Elovl2/5 from amphioxus elongates C18–C20 PUFAs but has minimal C22 activity; lamprey cannot elongate C22; elephant shark (basal jawed vertebrate) Elovl2 efficiently elongates C22 PUFAs, establishing that C22 elongation activity enabling DHA synthesis via the Sprecher pathway emerged in the jawed vertebrate ancestor. Heterologous expression in yeast; phylogenetic analysis; fatty acid substrate profiling Scientific reports High 26856376
2022 Elovl2 ablation in mice leads to remodeling of liver mitochondrial membrane fatty acids with drastically reduced DHA and DPAn-6, without increased lipid peroxidation. Mitochondrial function is impaired (increased oligomycin-insensitive oxygen consumption, reduced respiratory control coefficients, increased sensitivity to fatty acid-induced uncoupling and permeabilization) involving ANT2; mitochondrial volume and peroxisome number increase. Respiratory chain protein content is preserved, indicating the dysfunction is membrane composition-dependent. Elovl2 knockout mice; mitochondrial membrane lipid profiling; oxidative stress biomarkers (MDAL); mitochondrial respiration assays; Western blot of respiratory chain proteins; transmission electron microscopy Nutrients High 35276915
2016 Both maternal and offspring Elovl2 genotypes determine systemic DHA levels during perinatal life in mice; Elovl2-/- offspring have significantly lower hepatic and serum DHA than Elovl2+/+ offspring, but Elovl2+/- offspring nursed by DHA-free-fed Elovl2-/- mothers maintain DHA levels comparable to wild-type, demonstrating that endogenous ELOVL2-mediated synthesis in offspring can compensate for maternal DHA deficiency. Maternal DHA supplementation strongly induces hepatic Mfsd2a (fatty acid transporter) expression in offspring. Elovl2 knockout and heterozygous mouse crosses; dietary DHA supplementation/deprivation; hepatic fatty acid profiling; hepatic gene expression analysis Journal of lipid research Medium 27864326

Source papers

Stage 0 corpus · 69 papers · ranked by NIH iCite citations
Year Title Journal Citations PMID
2012 Methylation of ELOVL2 gene as a new epigenetic marker of age. Aging cell 334 23061750
2009 Highly unsaturated fatty acid synthesis in Atlantic salmon: characterization of ELOVL5- and ELOVL2-like elongases. Marine biotechnology (New York, N.Y.) 146 19184219
2018 DNA methylation of the ELOVL2, FHL2, KLF14, C1orf132/MIR29B2C, and TRIM59 genes for age prediction from blood, saliva, and buccal swab samples. Forensic science international. Genetics 139 30300865
2018 Age-related DNA methylation changes are tissue-specific with ELOVL2 promoter methylation as exception. Epigenetics & chromatin 138 29848354
2014 Examination of DNA methylation status of the ELOVL2 marker may be useful for human age prediction in forensic science. Forensic science international. Genetics 135 25450787
2014 Elovl2 ablation demonstrates that systemic DHA is endogenously produced and is essential for lipid homeostasis in mice. Journal of lipid research 114 24489111
2010 ELOVL2 controls the level of n-6 28:5 and 30:5 fatty acids in testis, a prerequisite for male fertility and sperm maturation in mice. Journal of lipid research 114 21106902
2009 Remodeling of retinal Fatty acids in an animal model of diabetes: a decrease in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids is associated with a decrease in fatty acid elongases Elovl2 and Elovl4. Diabetes 112 19875612
2020 The lipid elongation enzyme ELOVL2 is a molecular regulator of aging in the retina. Aging cell 78 31943697
2017 Systemic Age-Associated DNA Hypermethylation of ELOVL2 Gene: In Vivo and In Vitro Evidences of a Cell Replication Process. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences 72 27672102
2017 DNA methylation in ELOVL2 and C1orf132 correctly predicted chronological age of individuals from three disease groups. International journal of legal medicine 66 28725932
2016 Evolutionary functional elaboration of the Elovl2/5 gene family in chordates. Scientific reports 48 26856376
2013 Molecular basis for differential elongation of omega-3 docosapentaenoic acid by the rat Elovl5 and Elovl2. Journal of lipid research 46 23873268
2019 CRISPR/Cas9-mediated ablation of elovl2 in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) inhibits elongation of polyunsaturated fatty acids and induces Srebp-1 and target genes. Scientific reports 43 31101849
2017 Molecular phenotyping of multiple mouse strains under metabolic challenge uncovers a role for Elovl2 in glucose-induced insulin secretion. Molecular metabolism 43 28377873
2016 Estrogen Enhances the Expression of the Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Elongase Elovl2 via ERα in Breast Cancer Cells. PloS one 41 27788154
2007 ELOVL2 overexpression enhances triacylglycerol synthesis in 3T3-L1 and F442A cells. FEBS letters 41 17583696
2018 Protective role of the ELOVL2/docosahexaenoic acid axis in glucolipotoxicity-induced apoptosis in rodent beta cells and human islets. Diabetologia 37 29754287
2013 ELOVL2 gene polymorphisms are associated with increases in plasma eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid proportions after fish oil supplement. Genes & nutrition 36 24292947
2021 ADIPOR1 deficiency-induced suppression of retinal ELOVL2 and docosahexaenoic acid levels during photoreceptor degeneration and visual loss. Cell death & disease 31 33963174
2021 ELOVL2: a novel tumor suppressor attenuating tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer. American journal of cancer research 29 34249416
2021 ELOVL2 promotes cancer progression by inhibiting cell apoptosis in renal cell carcinoma. Oncology reports 26 34841437
2020 Polyunsaturated fatty acids synthesized by freshwater fish: A new insight to the roles of elovl2 and elovl5 in vivo. Biochemical and biophysical research communications 26 32883522
2020 ELOVL2: Not just a biomarker of aging. Translational medicine of aging 26 33043173
2015 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the FADS Gene Cluster but not the ELOVL2 Gene are Associated with Serum Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Composition and Development of Allergy (in a Swedish Birth Cohort). Nutrients 25 26633493
2020 rs953413 Regulates Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Metabolism by Modulating ELOVL2 Expression. iScience 21 31928966
2020 Elovl2 But Not Elovl5 Is Essential for the Biosynthesis of Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) in Zebrafish: Insight from a Comparative Gene Knockout Study. Marine biotechnology (New York, N.Y.) 21 32880080
2019 MYCN and PRC1 cooperatively repress docosahexaenoic acid synthesis in neuroblastoma via ELOVL2. Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR 21 31856871
2014 Functional characterization of the duck and turkey fatty acyl elongase enzymes ELOVL5 and ELOVL2. The Journal of nutrition 21 24919687
2022 DNA methylation analysis of ELOVL2 gene using droplet digital PCR for age estimation purposes. Forensic science international 20 35131731
2020 Higher Increase in Plasma DHA in Females Compared to Males Following EPA Supplementation May Be Influenced by a Polymorphism in ELOVL2: An Exploratory Study. Lipids 19 33174255
2020 Association Between Genetic Variants in FADS1-FADS2 and ELOVL2 and Obesity, Lipid Traits, and Fatty Acids in Tunisian Population. Clinical and applied thrombosis/hemostasis : official journal of the International Academy of Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hemostasis 18 32584610
2020 Influence of genetic variants in FADS2 and ELOVL2 genes on BMI and PUFAs homeostasis in children and adolescents with obesity. International journal of obesity (2005) 18 32843713
2020 A minimal number CpGs of ELOVL2 gene for a chronological age estimation using pyrosequencing. Forensic science international 18 33279766
2019 DHA intake interacts with ELOVL2 and ELOVL5 genetic variants to influence polyunsaturated fatty acids in human milk. Journal of lipid research 18 30914501
2018 FADS1-FADS2 and ELOVL2 gene polymorphisms in susceptibility to autism spectrum disorders in Chinese children. BMC psychiatry 18 30180836
2023 An ELOVL2-Based Epigenetic Clock for Forensic Age Prediction: A Systematic Review. International journal of molecular sciences 16 36768576
2020 Elovl2 Is Required for Robust Visual Function in Zebrafish. Cells 16 33276584
2016 Both maternal and offspring Elovl2 genotypes determine systemic DHA levels in perinatal mice. Journal of lipid research 16 27864326
2023 ELOVL2-AS1 suppresses tamoxifen resistance by sponging miR-1233-3p in breast cancer. Epigenetics 14 37908128
2022 Elovl2-Ablation Leads to Mitochondrial Membrane Fatty Acid Remodeling and Reduced Efficiency in Mouse Liver Mitochondria. Nutrients 14 35276915
2024 Regulation of meiotic telomere dynamics through membrane fluidity promoted by AdipoR2-ELOVL2. Nature communications 13 38485951
2020 Improvements and inter-laboratory implementation and optimization of blood-based single-locus age prediction models using DNA methylation of the ELOVL2 promoter. Scientific reports 13 32973211
2022 ELOVL2 restrains cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of prostate cancer via regulation of the tumor suppressor INPP4B. Cellular signalling 12 35640821
2020 FADS1 and ELOVL2 polymorphisms reveal associations for differences in lipid metabolism in a cross-sectional population-based survey of Brazilian men and women. Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.) 10 32502762
2019 Genetic variants in ELOVL2 and HSD17B12 predict melanoma-specific survival. International journal of cancer 10 30734280
2019 The catadromous teleost Anguilla japonica has a complete enzymatic repertoire for the biosynthesis of docosahexaenoic acid from α-linolenic acid: Cloning and functional characterization of an Elovl2 elongase. Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part B, Biochemistry & molecular biology 10 31678268
2022 Glioblastoma Multiforme Tumors in Women Have a Lower Expression of Fatty Acid Elongases ELOVL2, ELOVL5, ELOVL6, and ELOVL7 than in Men. Brain sciences 9 36291290
2011 Four genes located on a SSC2 meat quality QTL region are associated with different meat quality traits in Landrace × Chinese-European crossbred population. Animal genetics 9 22486507
2017 Genetic Variants in the ELOVL5 but not ELOVL2 Gene Associated with Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Han Chinese Breast Milk. Biomedical and environmental sciences : BES 7 28245901
2025 EpiAge: a next-generation sequencing-based ELOVL2 epigenetic clock for biological age assessment in saliva and blood across health and disease. Aging 6 39853302
2022 CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Transgenesis of the Masu Salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) elovl2 Gene Improves n-3 Fatty Acid Content in Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Marine biotechnology (New York, N.Y.) 6 35416602
2016 Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) Identify QTL on SSC2 and SSC17 Affecting Loin Peak Shear Force in Crossbred Commercial Pigs. PloS one 6 26901498
2023 Development and comparison of forensic interval age prediction models by statistical and machine learning methods based on the methylation rates of ELOVL2 in blood DNA. Forensic science international. Genetics 5 38160598
2022 ELOVL2-AS1 inhibits migration of triple negative breast cancer. PeerJ 5 35441059
2019 Synergistic Effects of DHA and Sucrose on Body Weight Gain in PUFA-Deficient Elovl2 -/- Mice. Nutrients 5 30991731
2011 Progeny-testing of full-sibs IBD in a SSC2 QTL region highlights epistatic interactions for fatness traits in pigs. BMC genetics 5 22032270
2022 Composition of Fatty Acids and Localization of SREBP1 and ELOVL2 Genes in Cauda Epididymides of Hu Sheep with Different Fertility. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI 4 36496823
2025 Association of cytomegalovirus serostatus with ELOVL2 methylation: Implications for lipid metabolism, inflammation, DNA damage, and repair capacity in the MARK-AGE study population. Mechanisms of ageing and development 2 40024396
2025 ELOVL2 mediated stabilization of AR contributes to enzalutamide resistance in prostate cancer. Frontiers in cell and developmental biology 2 40552308
2023 ELOVL2-methylation and renal and cardiovascular event in patients with chronic kidney disease. European journal of clinical investigation 2 37493252
2021 Characterization of the effects of age and childhood maltreatment on ELOVL2 DNA methylation. Development and psychopathology 2 33461631
2025 A Sex-Specific Minimal CpG-Based Model for Biological Aging Using ELOVL2 Methylation Analysis. International journal of molecular sciences 1 40244262
2024 ELOVL2, PRKG2, and EDARADD DNA Methylation Strongly Estimate Indonesian Adolescents. Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) 1 39202255
2025 Correction: ELOVL2 mediated stabilization of AR contributes to enzalutamide resistance in prostate cancer. Frontiers in cell and developmental biology 0 40636670
2025 A hexaplex droplet digital PCR assay for DNA methylation-based age prediction from blood samples targeting ELOVL2, FHL2, and TRIM59. Forensic science international. Genetics 0 41289662
2024 Sex-dependent differences in tissue and blood n-3 PUFA levels following ALA or ALA + DHA feeding of liver-specific Elovl2-KO and control mice. Prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and essential fatty acids 0 38763083
2024 Expression of dihomo-γ-linolenic acid and FADS1/2 and ELOVL2/5 in term rabbit placentas. Prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and essential fatty acids 0 39002196
2024 Molecular Identification and Functional Characterization of LC-PUFA Biosynthesis Elongase (elovl2) Gene in Chinese Sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis). Animals : an open access journal from MDPI 0 39199889