# PNPLA3

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/pnpla3/  
OnCo record `pnpla3` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

PNPLA3 (1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase PNPLA3) is an enzyme. In the public catalogues the evidence so far is association rather than a proven role. Tied to Hepatocellular carcinoma.

## Summary

Specifically catalyses coenzyme A (CoA)-dependent acylation of 1-acyl-sn-glycerol 3-phosphate (2-lysophosphatidic acid/LPA) to generate phosphatidic acid (PA), an important metabolic intermediate and precursor for both triglycerides and glycerophospholipids. Does not esterify other lysophospholipids. Acyl donors are long chain (at least C16) fatty acyl-CoAs: arachidonoyl-CoA, linoleoyl-CoA, oleoyl-CoA and at a lesser extent palmitoyl-CoA.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.56 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 0.96, genetic association 0.70).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: patatin like domain 3, 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase ; 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase PNPLA3; dJ796I17.1; FLJ22012; adiponutrin; iPLA2epsilon; C22orf20
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: PNPLA3
- Class: enzyme
- Biology: Specifically catalyses coenzyme A (CoA)-dependent acylation of 1-acyl-sn-glycerol 3-phosphate (2-lysophosphatidic acid/LPA) to generate phosphatidic acid (PA), an important metabolic intermediate and precursor for both triglycerides and glycerophospholipids. Does not esterify other lysophospholipids. Acyl donors are long chain (at least C16) fatty acyl-CoAs: arachidonoyl-CoA, linoleoyl-CoA, oleoyl-CoA and at a lesser extent palmitoyl-CoA. Additionally possesses low triacylglycerol lipase and CoA-independent acylglycerol transacylase activities and thus may play a role in acyl-chain remodeling of triglycerides. In vitro may express hydrolytic activity against glycerolipids triacylglycerol, diacylglycerol and monoacylglycerol, with a strong preference for oleic acid as the acyl moiety. However, the triacylglycerol hydrolase activity is controversial and may be very low. Location: Membrane; Lipid droplet (UniProt). Locus 22q13.31 (HGNC).
- Where found: Hepatocellular carcinoma: Open Targets association 0.52 with hepatocellular carcinoma (MONDO_0007256)

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: none stated by the sources. Evidence tier "association-only" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:18590: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:18590
- UniProt Q9NST1: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q9NST1/entry
- NCBI Gene 80339: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/80339
- Ensembl ENSG00000100344: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000100344

## Connected records

- collections: [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)
- cancers: [Hepatocellular carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/hcc/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/pnpla3.json