Background：The pyruvate dehydrogenase （PDH） complex is a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial multienzyme complex that catalyzes the overall conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA and carbon dioxide, and provides the primary link between glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid （TCA） cycle. The PDH complex is composed of multiple copies of three enzymatic components： pyruvate dehydrogenase （E1）, dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase （E2） and lipoamide dehydrogenase （E3）. The E1 enzyme is a heterotetramer of two alpha and two beta subunits. This gene encodes the E1 beta subunit. Mutations in this gene are associated with pyruvate dehydrogenase E1-beta deficiency. Alternatively spliced transcript variants have been found for this gene.
