The medium-chain carnitine acyltransferase activity associated with rat liver microsomes is malonyl-CoA sensitive

Membrane topology of human monoacylglycerol acyltransferase-2 and identification of regions important for its localization to the endoplasmic reticulum

Acyl CoA:2-monoacylglycerol acyltransferase (MGAT)-2 has an important role in dietary fat absorption in the intestine. MGAT2 resides in the endoplasmic reticulum and catalyzes the synthesis of diacylglycerol which is then utilized as a substrate for triacylglycerol synthesis. This triacylglycerol is then incorporated into chylomicrons which are released into the circulation. In this study, we determined the membrane topology of human MGAT2. Protease protection experiments showed that the C-terminus is exposed to the cytosol, while the N-terminus is partially buried in the ER membrane. MGAT2, like murine DGAT2, was found to have two transmembrane domains. We also identified a region of MGAT2 associated with the ER membrane that contains the histidine-proline-histidine-glycine sequence present in all DGAT2 family members that is thought to comprise the active site. Proteolysis experiments demonstrated that digestion of total cellular membranes from cells expressing MGAT2 with trypsin abolished MGAT activity, indicating that domains that are important for catalysis face the cytosol. We also explored the role that the five cysteines residues present in MGAT2 have in catalysis. MGAT activity was sensitive to two thiol modifiers, N-ethylmaleimide and 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid). Furthermore, mutation of four cysteines resulted in a reduction in MGAT activity. However, when the C-terminal cysteine (C334) was mutated, MGAT activity was actually higher than that of wild-type FL-MGAT2. Lastly, we determined that both transmembrane domains of MGAT2 are important for its ER localization, and that MGAT2 is present in mitochondrial-associated membranes.

Topological orientation of acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1 (DGAT1) and identification of a putative active site histidine and the role of the n terminus in dimer/tetramer formation

Acyl CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) is an integral membrane protein of the endoplasmic reticulum that catalyzes the synthesis of triacylglycerols. Two DGAT enzymes have been identified (DGAT1 and DGAT2) with unique roles in lipid metabolism. DGAT1 is a multifunctional acyltransferase capable of synthesizing diacylglycerol, retinyl, and wax esters in addition to triacylglycerol. Here, we report the membrane topology for murine DGAT1 using protease protections assays and indirect immunofluorescence in conjunction with selective permeabilization of cellular membranes. Topology models based on prediction algorithms suggested that DGAT1 had eight transmembrane domains. In contrast, our data indicate that DGAT1 has three transmembrane domains with the N terminus oriented toward the cytosol. The C-terminal region of DGAT1, which accounts for ∼50% of the protein, is present in the endoplasmic reticulum lumen and contains a highly conserved histidine residue (His-426) that may be part of the active site. Mutagenesis of His-426 to alanine impaired the ability of DGAT1 to synthesize triacylglycerols as well as retinyl and wax esters in an in vitro acyltransferase assay. Finally, we show that the N-terminal domain of DGAT1 is not required for the catalytic activity of DGAT1 but, instead, may be involved in regulating enzyme activity and dimer/tetramer formation.

Does mRNA level of microsomal carnitine palmitoyltransferase predict yield of peripheral blood stem cell apheresis?

Transplantation of autologous hematopoietic stem cells is a well established therapeutic procedure. Despite advances in efficacy of the stem cell mobilization and apheresis process until now a predictive factor for the expected stem cell yield before initiation of mobilization therapy could not be identified. The main objective of our study was to evaluate alterations in enzymes involved in fatty acid metabolism on the level of gene expression in mononuclear cells, as changes in relative mRNA levels of these enzymes could represent the hematopoietic regenerative potential. Data of 23 consecutive patients with different lymphoid malignancies undergoing stem cell mobilization were analyzed. Our results show that mRNA levels of microsomal carnitine palmitoyltransferase in peripheral blood mononuclear cells quantified before application of mobilization therapy correlate positively with the amount of CD34 positive cells in peripheral blood before first apheresis, in the first apheresis product and in the total harvest outcome. The association of enzymes involved in fatty acid metabolism with hematoopoiesis was further confirmed in healthy subjects on altitude-adaptation training and in proliferating or differentiating HL60 cells. This gives evidence for a possible predictive value of such analyzes though further data of a larger sample are to be collected to confirm our observations.

Inhibition of carnitine palmitoyltransferase in the rat small intestine reduces export of triacylglycerol into the lymph

Following digestion of dietary triacylglycerol (TAG), intestinal epithelial cells absorb fatty acids and monoacylglycerols that are resynthesized into TAG by enzymes located on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). A study in rat liver (Abo-Hashema, K. A., M. H. Cake, G. W. Power, and D. J. Clarke. 1999. Evidence for TAG synthesis in the lumen of microsomes via a lipolysis-esterification pathway involving carnitine acyltransferases. J. Biol. Chem. 274: 35577-35582) showed that there is a carnitine-dependent ER lumenal synthesis of TAG. We wanted to test the hypothesis that a similar pathway was present in rat intestine by utilizing etomoxir, a specific inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT). Intraduodenal infusion of etomoxir inhibited CPT activity in the ER by 69%. Etomoxir did not affect either the uptake of intraduodenally infused [3H]glyceryltrioleate by the intestinal mucosa or the production of mucosal [3H]TAG, excluding the possibility that etomoxir interfered with TAG absorption or synthesis. Etomoxir did not inhibit protein synthesis, glucose, cholesterol or palmitate absorption or metabolism, or ATP concentrations. Etomoxir substantially (74%) diminished lymph TAG output from intralumenally infused glyceryltrioleate. In conclusion, these data strongly support the hypothesis that an ER CPT system exists and is necessary for processing dietary TAG into chylomicrons. The significant reduction in lymphatic output of chylomicron TAG on etomoxir treatment suggests that the major source of chylomicron TAG is a diacylglyceroltransferase on the lumenal surface of the ER.

The liver isoform of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 is not targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum

Liver microsomal fractions contain a malonyl-CoA-inhibitable carnitine acyltransferase (CAT) activity. It has been proposed [Fraser, Corstorphine, Price and Zammit (1999) FEBS Lett. 446, 69-74] that this microsomal CAT activity is due to the liver form of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (L-CPT1) being targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane as well as to mitochondria, possibly by an N-terminal signal sequence [Cohen, Guillerault, Girard and Prip-Buus (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 5403-5411]. COS-1 cells were transiently transfected to express a fusion protein in which enhanced green fluorescent protein was fused to the C-terminus of L-CPT1. Confocal microscopy showed that this fusion protein was localized to mitochondria, and possibly to peroxisomes, but not to the ER. cDNAs corresponding to truncated (amino acids 1-328) or full-length L-CPT1 were transcribed and translated in the presence of canine pancreatic microsomes. However, there was no evidence of authentic insertion of CPT1 into the ER membrane. Rat liver microsomal fractions purified by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation contained an 88 kDa protein (p88) which was recognized by an anti-L-CPT1 antibody and by 2,4-dinitrophenol-etomoxiryl-CoA, a covalent inhibitor of L-CPT1. Abundance of p88 and malonyl-CoA-inhibitable CAT activity were increased approx. 3-fold by starvation for 24 h. Deoxycholate solubilized p88 and malonyl-CoA-inhibitable CAT activity from microsomes to approximately the same extent. The microsomal fraction contained porin, which, relative to total protein, was as abundant as in crude mitochondrial outer membranes fractions. It is concluded that L-CPT1 is not targeted to the ER membrane and that malonyl-CoA CAT in microsomal fractions is L-CPT1 that is derived from mitochondria, possibly from membrane contact sites.

Identification of the two histidine residues responsible for the inhibition by malonyl-CoA in peroxisomal carnitine octanoyltransferase from rat liver

Carnitine octanoyltransferase (COT), an enzyme that facilitates the transport of medium chain fatty acids through peroxisomal membranes, is inhibited by malonyl-CoA. cDNAs encoding full-length wild-type COT and one double mutant variant from rat peroxisomal COT were expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both expressed forms were expressed similarly in quantitative terms and exhibited full enzyme activity. The wild-type-expressed COT was inhibited by malonyl-CoA like the liver enzyme. The activity of the enzyme encoded by the double mutant H131A/H340A was completely insensitive to malonyl-CoA in the range assayed (2-200 microM). These results indicate that the two histidine residues, H131 and H340, are the sites responsible for inhibition by malonyl-CoA. Another mutant variant, H327A, abolishes the enzyme activity, from which it is concluded that it plays an important role in catalysis.

Evidence that carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT I) is expressed in microsomes and peroxisomes of rat liver. Distinct immunoreactivity of the N-terminal domain of the microsomal protein

Mitochondria, microsomes and peroxisomes all express overt (cytosol-facing) carnitine palmitoyltransferase activity that is inhibitable by malonyl-CoA. The overt carnitine palmitoyltransferase activity (CPTo) associated with the different fractions was measured. Mitochondria accounted for 65% of total cellular CPTo activity, with the microsomal and peroxisomal contributions accounting for the remaining 25% and 10%, respectively. In parallel experiments, rat livers were perfused in situ with medium containing dinitrophenyl (DNP)-etomoxir in order to inhibit quantitatively and label covalently (with DNP-etomoxiryl-CoA) the molecular species responsible for CPTo activity in each of the membrane systems under near-physiological conditions. In all three membrane fractions, a single protein with an identical molecular mass of approximately 88,000 kDa (p88) was labelled after DNP-etomoxir perfusion of the liver. The abundance of labelled p88 was quantitatively related to the respective specific activities of CPTo in each fraction. On Western blots the same protein was immunoreactive with three anti-peptide antibodies raised against linear epitopes of the cytosolic N- and C-domains and of the inter-membrane space loop (L) domain of the mitochondrial enzyme (L-CPT I). However, the reaction of the microsomal protein with the anti-N peptide antibody (raised against epitope Val-14-Lys-29 of CPT I) was an order of magnitude stronger than expected from either microsomal CPTo activity or its DNP-etomoxiryl-CoA labelling. This suggests that the N-terminal domain of the microsomal protein differs from that in the mitochondrial or peroxisomal protein. This conclusion was confirmed using antibody back-titration experiments, in which the binding of anti-N and anti-C antibodies by mitochondria and microsomes was quantified.

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase I, carnitine palmitoyltransferase II, and acyl-CoA oxidase activities in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Salmon farmers are currently using high-energy feeds containing up to 35% fat; the fish's capability of fully utilizing these high-energy feeds has received little attention. Carnitine is an essential component in the process of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and, with the cooperation of two carnitine palmitoyltransferases (CPT-I and CPT-II) and a carnitine acylcarnitine transporter across the inner mitochondrial membrane, acts as a carrier for acyl groups into the mitochondrial matrix where beta-oxidation occurs. However, no reports are available differentiating between CPT-I and CPT-II activities in fish. In order to investigate the potential for fatty acid catabolism, the activities of key enzymes involved in fatty acid oxidation were determined in different tissues from farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), i.e., acyl-CoA oxidase (ACO) and CPT-I and CPT-II. Malonyl-CoA was a potent inhibitor of CPT-I activity not only in red muscle but also in liver, white muscle, and heart. By expressing the enzyme activities per wet tissue, the CPT-I activity of white muscle equaled that of the red muscle, both being >> liver. CPT-II dominated in red muscle whereas the liver and white muscle activities were comparable. ACO activity was high in the liver regardless of how the data were calculated. Based on the CPT-II activity and total palmitoyl-L-carnitine oxidation in white muscle, the white muscle might have a profound role in the overall fatty acid oxidation capacity in fish.

The flux control coefficient of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I on palmitate beta-oxidation in rat hepatocyte cultures

Two important factors that determine the flux of hepatic beta-oxidation of long-chain fatty acids are the availability of fatty acid and the activity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT I). Using Metabolic Control Analysis, the flux control coefficient of CPT I in rat hepatocyte monolayers was determined by titration with 2-[6-(4-chlorophenoxy)hexyl]oxirane-2-carboxylate (Etomoxir), which is converted to Etomoxir-CoA, an irreversible inhibitor of CPT I. We measured CPT I activity and flux through beta-oxidation at 0.2 mM and 1.0 mM palmitate to simulate substrate concentrations in fed and fasted states. Rates of beta-oxidation were 4.5-fold higher at 1. 0 mM palmitate compared with 0.2 mM palmitate. Flux control coefficients of CPT I, estimated by two independent methods, were similar: 0.67 and 0.79 for 0.2 mM palmitate, and 0.68 and 0.77 for 1 mM palmitate. It is concluded that the regulatory potential of CPT I is similar at low and high physiological concentrations of palmitate.

The mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase system. From concept to molecular analysis

First conceptualized as a mechanism for the mitochondrial transport of long-chain fatty acids in the early 1960s, the carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) system has since come to be recognized as a pivotal component of fuel homeostasis. This is by virtue of the unique sensitivity of the outer membrane CPT I to the simple molecule, malonyl-CoA. In addition, both CPT I and the inner membrane enzyme, CPT II, have proved to be loci of inherited defects, some with disastrous consequences. Early efforts using classical approaches to characterize the CPT proteins in terms of structure/function/regulatory relationships gave rise to confusion and protracted debate. By contrast, recent application of molecular biological tools has brought major enlightenment at an exponential pace. Here we review some key developments of the last 20 years that have led to our current understanding of the physiology of the CPT system, the structure of the CPT isoforms, the chromosomal localization of their respective genes, and the identification of mutations in the human population.

Characterisation of carnitine palmitoyltransferases in patients with a carnitine palmitoyltransferase deficiency: implications for diagnosis and therapy

OBJECTIVES

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) deficiency is one of the most common defects of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation. Two different enzymes (CPT-I and CPT-II) are involved. Due to problems in measuring enzyme activity, relatively little is known about the substrate specificity of each of the human enzymes. This is of considerable importance in the treatment of patients. The objectives were to establish a reliable method for the measurement of CPT activity in whole cells, to use this to characterise the substrate specificity of each enzyme, and finally, to determine if medium chain triglycerides would be of benefit in the treatment of deficient patients.

METHODS

A simple permeabilisation technique was used which allows the measurement of CPT activity in a small amount of cultured skin fibroblasts or peripheral blood cells. Using this technique three patients were identified with CPT deficiency. In two of these patients, one with CPT-I deficiency and one with CPT-II deficiency, a complete substrate specificity profile of the mitochondrial carnitine acyltransferases was established for all saturated even chain acyl-CoA esters.

RESULTS

For both enzymes the highest CPT activity was with C12-CoA. About 70% of total cellular carnitine octanoyltransferase activity was due to mitochondrial CPT. As CPT is involved in the transport of medium chain fatty acids the metabolic response of a patient with CPT-II deficiency to dietary medium chain triglycerides was assessed. Despite the normal production of ketone bodies there was a significant medium chain dicarboxylic aciduria in the patient, indicating a limited capacity of the CPT independent mitochondrial uptake of medium chain fatty acids.

CONCLUSIONS

CPT deficiency can easily be diagnosed in permeabilised cultured skin fibroblasts. Both CPT-I and CPT-II are more active with medium chain length substrates than previously assumed. Care should therefore be taken in the treatment of these patients with medium chain triglycerides.

Flux control exerted by mitochondrial outer membrane carnitine palmitoyltransferase over beta-oxidation, ketogenesis and tricarboxylic acid cycle activity in hepatocytes isolated from rats in different metabolic states

The Flux Control Coefficients of mitochondrial outer membrane carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT I) with respect to the overall rates of beta-oxidation, ketogenesis and tricarboxylic acid cycle activity were measured in hepatocytes isolated from rats in different metabolic states (fed, 24 h-starved, starved-refed and starved/insulin-treated). These conditions were chosen because there is controversy as to whether, when significant control ceases to be exerted by CPT I over the rate of fatty oxidation [Moir and Zammit (1994) Trends Biochem. Sci. 19, 313-317], this is transferred to one or more steps proximal to acylcarnitine synthesis (e.g. decreased delivery of fatty acids to the liver) or to the reaction catalysed by mitochondrial 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA synthase [Hegardt (1995) Biochem. Soc. Trans. 23, 486-490]. Therefore isolated hepatocytes were used in the present study to exclude the involvement of changes in the rate of delivery of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) to the liver, such as occur in vivo, and to ascertain whether, under conditions of constant supply of NEFA, CPT I retains control over the relevant fluxes of fatty acid oxidation to ketones and carbon dioxide, or whether control is transferred to another (intrahepatocytic) site. The results clearly show that the Flux Control Coefficients of CPT I with respect to overall beta-oxidation and ketogenesis are very high under all conditions investigated, indicating that control is not lost to another intrahepatic site during the metabolic transitions studied. The control of CPT I over tricarboxylic acid cycle activity was always very low. The significance of these findings for the integration of fatty acid and carbohydrate metabolism in the liver is discussed.

Solubilization and separation of two distinct carnitine acyltransferases from hepatic microsomes: characterization of the malonyl-CoA-sensitive enzyme

Conditions have been developed for the solubilization of hepatic microsomal carnitine acyltransferase activity in good yield, with excellent long-term stability and with retention of malonyl-CoA sensitivity. Solubilized microsomal carnitine acyltransferase activity can be separated into malonyl-CoA-sensitive and -insensitive activities either by gel filtration on Superdex 200 or by anion-exchange chromatography on Resource Q. On gel filtration the apparent molecular masses of the malonyl-CoA-sensitive and -insensitive activities are approx. 300 kDa and 60 kDa respectively. The malonyl-CoA-sensitive and -insensitive activities have different fatty-acyl-chain-length specificities and different stabilities in the detergent octyl glucoside. Together these findings indicate that the malonyl-CoA-sensitive and -insensitive activities are due to different enzymes. The malonyl-CoA sensitivity of the inhibitable enzyme is markedly increased on reconstitution into soybean L-alpha-lecithin liposomes, demonstrating that phospholipids play a crucial role in the inhibition by this metabolite. Evidence is also provided that the malonyl-CoA-sensitive microsomal carnitine acyltransferase is a different enzyme from the malonyl-CoA-sensitive carnitine palmitoyltransferase found in the mitochondrial outer membrane. The possible physiological role of the two microsomal acyltransferases is discussed.

Insulin regulates enzyme activity, malonyl-CoA sensitivity and mRNA abundance of hepatic carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I

The regulation of hepatic mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I (CPT-I) was studied in rats during starvation and insulin-dependent diabetes and in rat H4IIE cells. The Vmax. for CPT-I in hepatic mitochondrial outer membranes isolated from starved and diabetic rats increased 2- and 3-fold respectively over fed control values with no change in Km values for substrates. Regulation of malonyl-CoA sensitivity of CPT-I in isolated mitochondrial outer membranes was indicated by an 8-fold increase in Ki during starvation and by a 50-fold increase in Ki in the diabetic state. Peroxisomal and microsomal CPT also had decreased sensitivity to inhibition by malonyl-CoA during starvation. CPT-I mRNA abundance was 7.5 times greater in livers of 48-h-starved rats and 14.6 times greater in livers of insulin-dependent diabetic rats compared with livers of fed rats. In H4IIE cells, insulin increased CPT-I sensitivity to inhibition by malonyl-CoA in 4 h, and sensitivity continued to increase up to 24 h after insulin addition. CPT-I mRNA levels in H4IIE cells were decreased by insulin after 4 h and continued to decrease so that at 24 h there was a 10-fold difference. The half-life of CPT-I mRNA was 4 h in the presence of actinomycin D or with actinomycin D plus insulin. These results suggest that insulin regulates CPT-I by inhibiting transcription of the CPT-I gene.

Inhibition of liver microsomal carnitine acyltransferases by sulphonylurea drugs

The sulphonylureas glibenclamide and tolbutamide inhibited carnitine acyltransferase activities in rat liver microsomes. Glibenclamide was a more potent inhibitor than tolbutamide. The effect of tolbutamide on the malonyl-CoA-inhibitable transferase was influenced by the phospholipid/detergent environment whereas the effect of glibenclamide was not. Glibenclamide was a more potent inhibitor of the malonyl-CoA-inhibitable transferase than of the malonyl-CoA-insensitive enzyme. The extent of inhibition of the malonyl-CoA-inhibitable transferase by tolbutamide was similar to its effect on VLDL triacylglycerol secretion as reported by Wiggins and Gibbons [Biochem. J. 284 (1992) 457-462] possibly supporting the suggestion that microsomal carnitine acyltransferases are involved in VLDL triacylglycerol assembly/secretion.

Substrate specificity of rat liver mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyl transferase I: evidence against alpha-oxidation of phytanic acid in rat liver mitochondria

The two branched chain fatty acids pristanic acid (2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecanoic acid) and phytanic acid (3,7,11,15-tetramethylhexadecanoic acid) were converted to co-enzyme A thioesters by rat liver mitochondrial outer membranes. However, these branched chain fatty acids could not be converted to pristanoyl and phytanoyl carnitines, respectively, by mitochondrial outer membranes. As expected, the unbranched long chain fatty acids, stearic acid and palmitic acid, were rapidly converted to stearoyl and palmitoyl carnitines, respectively, by mitochondrial outer membranes. These observations indicate that the branched chain fatty acids could not be transported into mitochondria. The data presented strongly suggest that in rat liver, alpha-oxidation of phytanic acid occurs in organelles other than mitochondria.

Involvement of microsomal vesicles in part of the sensitivity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I to malonyl-CoA inhibition in mitochondrial fractions of rat liver

Liver mitochondrial fractions as normally isolated contain only 10-20% of total mitochondria and may not be representative of the whole mitochondrial population. This study was designed to evaluate the dependence of the sensitivity of carnitine palmitoyl-transferase I (CPT I) to malonyl-CoA inhibition in mitochondrial fractions that are not normally studied. Four fractions prepared from rat liver were found to be contaminated to different extents by microsome vesicles, on the basis of marker-enzyme activities and micrographic data. Purification of mitochondrial fractions on a Percoll gradient decreased to some extent the microsomal contamination, which was due in part to the existence of close bonds between microsomes and the outer membranes of mitochondria. A greater degree of contamination of mitochondrial fractions by microsomes was correlated with a greater sensitivity of CPT I to malonyl-CoA inhibition. Attempts were made to enhance the sensitivity of CPT I to malonyl-CoA with the use of microsomes. Measurements performed by adding mitochondria and microsomes in the same CPT I assay failed to demonstrate any significant enhancement of malonyl-CoA inhibition. However, addition of ATP to a mixture of mitochondria and microsomes was shown to trigger the binding of both particles, as assessed by enzymic and micrographic data, and to increase the sensitivity of CPT I to malonyl-CoA inhibition. These results demonstrated that the binding of microsomes to mitochondria, unlike the simple mixing of both particles, was capable of altering the sensitivity of CPT I to malonyl-CoA. The data also suggest that this process could be of physiological importance, owing to the frequency of contiguous zones between mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum observed in sections of intact liver cells.

Cholate extracts of mitochondrial outer membranes increase inhibition by malonyl-CoA of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I by a mechanism involving phospholipids

It has been reported that sodium cholate can separate the catalytic component of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I (CPT-I) from a putative malonyl-CoA-binding regulatory protein capable of conferring sensitivity to malonyl-CoA on CPT-II. We found that cholate preferentially extracted a contaminating malonyl-CoA-sensitive CPT from mitochondrial inner membranes. When cholate extracts of outer membranes were incubated either with cholate extracts of inner membranes or with osmotically swollen mitochondria, inhibition of CPT by malonyl-CoA was increased. Treatment of intact mitochondria with subtilisin abolished the increased inhibition by malonyl-CoA, suggesting that the outer-membrane CPT-I was responsible for the increased inhibition. Incubation of cholate extracts with proteinase K did not prevent the increased inhibition. Fractionation of the cholate extract indicated the presence of phospholipids. Addition of cardiolipin or phosphatidylglycerol to osmotically swollen mitochondria increased sensitivity of CPT to malonyl-CoA, but several other phospholipids did not. When cardiolipin was added to intact mitochondria from either starved or fed rats, there were large increases in inhibition by malonyl-CoA; sensitivity in mitochondria from starved rats increased to that normally observed with mitochondria from fed rats. These results suggest that phospholipids are responsible for the increased inhibition of CPT by malonyl-CoA with added cholate extracts and that changes in membrane composition may be involved in the physiological regulation of CPT-I.

Comparison of the active sites of the purified carnitine acyltransferases from peroxisomes and mitochondria by using a reaction-intermediate analogue

The carnitine acyltransferases contribute to the modulation of the acyl-CoA/CoA ratio in various cell compartments with consequent effects on many aspects of fatty acid metabolism. The properties of the enzymes are different in each location. The kinetic mechanisms and kinetic parameters for the carnitine acyltransferases purified from peroxisomes (COT) and from the mitochondrial inner membrane (CPT-II) were determined. Product-inhibition studies established that COT follows a rapid-equilibrium random-order mechanism, but CPT-II follows a strictly ordered mechanism in which acyl-CoA or CoA must bind before the carnitine substrate. Hemipalmitoylcarnitinium [(+)-HPC], a prototype tetrahedral intermediate analogue of the acyltransferase reaction, inhibits CPT-II 100-fold better than COT. (+)-HPC behaves as an analogue of palmitoyl-L-carnitine with COT. In contrast, with CPT-II(+)-HPC binds more tightly to the enzyme than do substrates or products, suggesting that it is a good model for the transition state and, unlike palmitoyl-L-carnitine, (+)-HPC can bind to the free enzyme. The data support the concept of three binding domains for the acyltransferases, a CoA site, an acyl site and a carnitine site. The CoA site is similar in COT and CPT-II, but there are distinct differences between the carnitine-binding site which may dictate the kinetic mechanism.

Carnitine medium/long chain acyltransferase of microsomes seems to be the previously cloned approximately 54 kDa protein of unknown function

A microsomal protein having N-terminal amino acid sequence SDVLELTDEN, was initially described as a phosphatidyl inositol-specific phospholipase C alpha when its cDNA was cloned (Bennett et al., Nature, 334, 268, 1988). Later, this protein, with an estimated molecular mass of 54 to 60 kDa, was shown to lack the phospholipase activity and instead a protein disulfide oxidoreductase and a thiol protease activities were ascribed to it. Following evidences indicated that the protein in question is the carnitine medium/long chain acyltransferase (CPT) of microsomes that was recently purified as a approximately 54 kDa protein (Murthy and Bieber, Protein Exp. Purif. 3, 75, 1992). First, the N-terminal amino acids of the microsomal CPT showed 100% homology to the sequence described above. Second, during purification of this CPT, the oxidoreductase and the thiol protease activities of the microsomes became separated from the CPT and these other activities were not found in the approximately 900 fold enriched CPT preparations. Third, an antibody to this protein did not immunoprecipitate oxidoreductase of the solubilized microsomal extract but precipitated the CPT. This same protein has been studied by others as the ERp61 (endoplasmic reticulum protein), GRP58 (glucose regulated protein), and HIP-70 (hormone induced protein) but its function was not identified.

Activity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase in mitochondrial outer membranes and peroxisomes in digitonin-permeabilized hepatocytes. Selective modulation of mitochondrial enzyme activity by okadaic acid

A procedure is described for the rapid measurement of the activity of mitochondrial-outer-membrane carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPTo) and peroxisomal carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPTp) in digitonin-permeabilized hepatocytes. CPTo activity was determined as the tetradecylglycidate (TDGA)-sensitive malonyl-CoA-sensitive CPT activity, whereas CPTp activity was monitored as the TDGA-insensitive malonyl-CoA-sensitive CPT activity. Under these experimental conditions, the respective contributions of CPTo and CPTp to total hepatocellular malonyl-CoA-sensitive CPT activity were 74.6 and 25.4%, which correlated well with the values of 76.9 and 23.1% for the respective contributions of the mitochondrial and the peroxisomal compartment to total hepatocellular palmitate oxidation. The sensitivity of CPTo to inhibition by malonyl-CoA was very similar to that of CPTp; thus 50% inhibition of CPTo and CPTp activities was achieved with malonyl-CoA concentrations of 2.6 +/- 0.5 and 3.0 +/- 0.4 microM respectively. Short-term incubation of hepatocytes with the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid (i) increased the activity of CPTo and the rate of mitochondrial palmitate oxidation, (ii) decreased the affinity of CPTo for palmitoyl-CoA substrate, and (iii) decreased the sensitivity of CPTo to inhibition by malonyl-CoA. By contrast, neither the properties of CPTp nor the rate of peroxisomal palmitate oxidation were changed upon incubation of cells with okadaic acid. Results indicate therefore that CPTo, but not CPTp, may be regulated by a mechanism of phosphorylation/dephosphorylation. The physiological relevance of these findings is discussed.

Malonyl-CoA inhibition of peroxisomal carnitine octanoyltransferase

Although the malonyl-CoA sensitivity of peroxisomal carnitine octanoyltransferase (COT) is reportedly lost on solubilization, we show that malonyl-CoA does inhibit the purified enzyme. Assay conditions such as buffer composition, pH, acyl-CoA substrate and the presence or absence of BSA can affect the observed inhibition. When assayed in the absence of BSA, COT shows simple competitive inhibition by malonyl-CoA. The Ki value for inhibition of purified COT is high (106 microM) compared with physiological concentrations (1-6 microM) and other short-chain acyl-CoA esters inhibit COT to the same degree. However, when COT is assayed in intact peroxisomes, the Ki for malonyl-CoA is almost 20-fold lower than found with the purified enzyme, whereas inhibition by other short-chain acyl-CoA esters does not change significantly. Several features of the inhibition of peroxisomal COT, including the specificity of malonyl-CoA over other short-chain acyl-CoA esters, resemble those of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT)-I, suggesting that the regulation of COT and CPT-I in parallel may be necessary for the control of cellular fatty acid metabolism.

Purification of the medium-chain/long-chain (COT/CPT) carnitine acyltransferase of rat liver microsomes

A procedure for the purification of the rat liver microsomal carnitine octanoyltransferase (COT) that catalyzes the reversible formation of medium-chain and long-chain acylcarnitines from acyl-coenzyme A is described. The K0.5 for L-carnitine is 0.6 mM and the K0.5 for both decanoyl-CoA and palmitoyl-CoA is 0.6 microM. The Vmax with decanoyl-CoA is approximately fourfold greater than the Vmax with palmitoyl-CoA. The enzyme is monomeric, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gives a molecular weight of 50,100, and molecular sieving gives a molecular weight of 54,300. Purified COT does not cross-react with either antimitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase or antiperoxisomal COT antibodies. It also does not form a covalent adduct when incubated with etomoxiryl-CoA. Microsomal COT is a different protein than either mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase or peroxisomal COT.

Effect of etomoxiryl-CoA on different carnitine acyltransferases

The effects of etomoxiryl-CoA on purified carnitine acyltransferases and on carnitine acyl-transferases of rat heart mitochondria and rat liver microsomes were determined. At nanomolar concentrations, the data agreed with that of other investigators who have shown that etomoxiryl-CoA must be binding to a high affinity site with specific inhibition of mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPTo). Micromolar amounts of etomoxiryl-CoA inhibited both short- and long-chain carnitine acyltransferases. The concentrations of etomoxiryl-CoA required for 50% inhibition of the different carnitine acetyltransferases and microsomal and peroxisomal carnitine octanoyltransferase were in the low micromolar range. Mixed-type and uncompetitive inhibition kinetics were obtained, depending on the source of purified enzyme. When purified rat heart CPT was incubated with etomoxiryl-CoA, it increased the K0.5 and decreased the Hill coefficient for acyl-CoA. Both proteins and phospholipids of mitochondria and microsomes formed covalent adducts of [3H]etomoxir, with the predominant labeling in phospholipids. None of the purified enzymes formed covalent adducts when incubated with [3H]etomoxiryl-CoA, in contrast to intact mitochondria or microsomes. The major 3H-labeled protein for rat heart mitochondria had a molecular weight of 81,000 +/- 4000, and the major proteins from microsomes had a molecular weight of 51,000-57,000. Malonyl-CoA prevented most of the tritum incorporation into the 81,000 Da protein of mitochondria, but it had little effect on incorporation of tritiated etomoxir into the 51,000-57,000 Da proteins of microsomes. When 50 microM etomoxiryl-CoA was added to microsomes and to mitochondria that had been incubated with radioactive etomoxiryl-CoA, much of the radioactive etomoxir disappeared from the major microsomal proteins, but virtually none was displaced from the mitochondrial protein. Thus, at least two different types of covalent etomoxir complexes were formed. This pulse-chase experiment showed that the mitochondrial protein-etomoxir complex was not turned over, consistent with other data showing that etomoxir inhibited carnitine palmitoyltransferase. In contrast, the major protein-etomoxir complex in microsomes was turned over during the pulse-chase experiment.

Regulation of mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyl transferases from liver and extrahepatic tissues

Developments in our understanding of the complex CPT enzyme system over the past ten years have been reviewed. Liver CPT1, which is probably distinct from that in several extrahepatic tissues, is subject to up- or down-regulation of its activity and kinetic properties with changing physiological state. Evidence is now accumulating to support the notion that the catalytic and malonyl-CoA-binding entities of CPT1 are separate polypeptides.

Okadaic acid stimulates carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity and palmitate oxidation in isolated rat hepatocytes

Okadaic acid parallely increased carnitine [corrected] palmitoyltransferase I activity and the rate of palmitate oxidation in isolated rat hepatocytes. Nevertheless, okadaic acid had no significant effect on the rate of octanoate oxidation. Maximal effects of okadaic acid were similar and non-additive to those of dibutyryl-cAMP, forskolin and glucagon. Results indicate that carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity may be controlled by a mechanism of phosphorylation/dephosphorylation.

Purification of heart and liver mitochondrial carnitine acetyltransferase

Heart and liver mitochondrial, as well as liver peroxisomal, carnitine acetyltransferase was purified to apparent homogeneity and some properties, primarily of heart mitochondrial carnitine acetyltransferase, were determined. Hill coefficients for propionyl-CoA are 1.0 for each of the enzymes. The molecular weight of heart mitochondrial carnitine acetyltransferase, determined by SDS-PAGE, is 62,000. It is monomeric in the presence of catalytic amounts of substrate. Polyclonal antibodies against purified rat liver peroxisomal carnitine acetyltransferase precipitate liver and heart mitochondrial and liver peroxisomal carnitine acetyltransferase, but not liver peroxisomal carnitine octanoyltransferase. Liver peroxisomes, mitochondria, and microsomes and heart mitochondria all give multiple bands on Western blotting with the antibody against carnitine acetyltransferase. Major protein bands occur at the molecular weight of carnitine acetyltransferase and at 33 to 35 kDa.

Effect of insulin on the properties of liver carnitine palmitoyltransferase in the starved rat: assessment by the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp

The effect of insulin on the properties of liver carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT I) was assessed in conscious starved rats with the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp. A 24-hour clamp was necessary to fully reverse the effect of starvation on liver malonyl-CoA concentration, CPT I maximal activity, and apparent km and Ki for malonyl-CoA. Since glucagon was not decreased during the clamp, insulin is the major factor involved in the regulation of CPT I.

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase in human erythrocyte membrane. Properties and malonyl-CoA sensitivity

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase located in the erythrocyte plasma membrane is sensitive to inhibition by malonyl-CoA and 2-bromopalmitoyl-CoA plus carnitine. Although this inhibition and other properties suggest similarities to the intracellular enzymes in other tissues, no cross-reaction was observed with antisera to the peroxisomal or to the mitochondrial inner-membrane enzyme. The activity was solubilized by and was stable in Triton X-100, which destroys the enzymes found in microsomes and in the mitochondrial outer membrane. The substrate specificity is broader than for the intracellular enzymes, the activities with stearoyl-CoA (114%) and arachidonoyl-CoA (97%) being equal to that with palmitoyl-CoA, and the activities with linoleoyl-CoA (44%) and erucoyl-CoA (46%) about half that with palmitoyl-CoA. The function of this carnitine palmitoyltransferase is probably to buffer the acyl-CoA present in the erythrocyte for turnover of the fatty acyl groups of the membrane lipids.