Elongation of very long chain fatty acids protein 5 (ELOVL5)

Catalyzes the initial and rate-limiting reaction of the four that constitute the long-chain fatty acids elongation cycle. This endoplasmic reticulum-bound enzymatic procedure, allows the inclusion of two carbons into the chain of long- and very long-chain fatty acids/VLCFAs per cycle.

Condensing enzyme that acts specifically toward polyunsaturated acyl-CoA with the higher activity toward C18:3(n-6) acyl-CoA. May participate in the production of monounsaturated and of polyunsaturated VLCFAs of different chain lengths that are involved in multiple biological processes as precursors of membrane lipids and lipid mediators.