該基因編碼多酶丙酮酸脫氫酶復合物（PDC）的組分E2PDC位于線粒體內膜，催化丙酮酸轉化為乙酰輔酶A。該基因的蛋白質產物，二氫脂酰胺乙酰轉移酶接受丙酮酸氧化脫羧基形成的乙酰基并將其轉移到輔酶A。二氫硫酰胺乙酰轉移酶是抗線粒體抗體的抗原。這些自身抗體存在于近95%的自身免疫性肝病原發性膽汁性肝硬化（PBC）患者中在pbc中，活化的t淋巴細胞攻擊并破壞膽管上皮細胞，在那里這種蛋白異常分布和過度表達。PBC可導致肝硬化和肝功能衰竭該基因的突變也是丙酮酸脫氫酶E2缺乏癥的一個原因，丙酮酸脫氫酶E2缺乏癥導致嬰兒和幼兒期原發性乳酸酸中毒.
This gene encodes component E2 of the multi-enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC). PDC resides in the inner mitochondrial membrane and catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl coenzyme A. The protein product of this gene, dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase, accepts acetyl groups formed by the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate and transfers them to coenzyme A. Dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase is the antigen for antimitochondrial antibodies. These autoantibodies are present in nearly 95% of patients with the autoimmune liver disease primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). In PBC, activated T lymphocytes attack and destroy epithelial cells in the bile duct where this protein is abnormally distributed and overexpressed. PBC enventually leads to cirrhosis and liver failure. Mutations in this gene are also a cause of pyruvate dehydrogenase E2 deficiency which causes primary lactic acidosis in infancy and early childhood.[provided by RefSeq, Oct 2009]