Pyruvate decarboxylase

Pyruvate decarboxylase is an enzyme which removes a CO₂ molecule from pyruvate to give an acetaldehyde, and is notably the first enzyme in the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. It is a heterotetramer consisting of 2 alpha and 2 beta subunitshttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim/300502. The alpha subunits are encoded by PDHA1 gene which is located on Xp22.2-p22.1, the beta subunits are encoded by the PDHB gene, which is located on chromosone 3p. The active site for the enzyme is contained on the alpha subunit.