Catalytic subunit of the NatB complex which catalyzes acetylation of the N-terminal methionine residues of peptides beginning with Met-Asp, Met-Glu, Met-Asn and Met-Gln. Proteins with cell cycle functions are overrepresented in the pool of NatB substrates. Required for maintaining the structure and function of actomyosin fibers and for proper cellular migration.
In the present study we present the components of hNatB (human NatB complex). It consists of the Nat3p homologue hNAT3 (human N-acetyltransferase 3) and the Mdm20p homologue hMDM20 (human mitochondrial distribution and morphology 20). They form a stable complex and in vitro display sequence-specific N(alpha)-acetyltransferase activity on a peptide with the N-terminus Met-Asp-.