Background of the antigen
GCDH is a 438 amino acid protein that localizes to the mitochondrial matrix and belongs to the acyl-CoA dehydrogenase family. Existing as a homotetramer, GCDH uses FAD as a cofactor to catalyze the oxidative decarboxylation of glutaryl-CoA to crotonyl-CoA and CO(2) in the degradative pathway of L-lysine, L-hydroxylysine and L-tryptophan metabolism. While GCDH exists as both a long and short isoform, only the long isoform is a functionally active protein. Defects in the gene encoding GCDH are the cause of glutaric acidemia type I (GA-I), an autosomal recessive disorder that is characterized by the accumulation of glutaconic acid and is associated with such symptoms as progressive dystonia and athetosis due to gliosis and neuronal loss in the basal ganglia.
