Flux control exerted by overt carnitine palmitoyltransferase over palmitoyl-CoA oxidation and ketogenesis is lower in suckling than in adult rats

Control of mitochondrial beta-oxidation flux

The control of mitochondrial beta-oxidation, including the delivery of acyl moieties from the plasma membrane to the mitochondrion, is reviewed. Control of beta-oxidation flux appears to be largely at the level of entry of acyl groups to mitochondria, but is also dependent on substrate supply. CPTI has much of the control of hepatic beta-oxidation flux, and probably exerts high control in intact muscle because of the high concentration of malonyl-CoA in vivo. beta-Oxidation flux can also be controlled by the redox state of NAD/NADH and ETF/ETFH(2). Control by [acetyl-CoA]/[CoASH] may also be significant, but it is probably via export of acyl groups by carnitine acylcarnitine translocase and CPT II rather than via accumulation of 3-ketoacyl-CoA esters. The sharing of control between CPTI and other enzymes allows for flexible regulation of metabolism and the ability to rapidly adapt beta-oxidation flux to differing requirements in different tissues.

Carnitine palmitoyl transferase I and the control of beta-oxidation in heart mitochondria

Mitochondrial beta-oxidation provides much of the fuel requirements of heart and skeletal muscle despite the malonyl-CoA concentration greatly exceeding the IC(50) of carnitine palmitoyl transferase for malonyl-CoA. To try to explore the relationship between inhibition of carnitine palmitoyl transferase I activity and beta-oxidation flux, we measured the flux control coefficient of carnitine palmitoyl transferase I over beta-oxidation carbon flux in suckling rat heart mitochondria. The flux control coefficient was found to be 0.08 +/- 0.05 and 50% of carnitine palmitoyl transferase I activity could be inhibited before beta-oxidation flux was affected. These observations may help to explain the presence of high rates of beta-oxidation despite the high concentration of malonyl-CoA in rat heart; we hypothesize that although not rate-limiting in vitro, carnitine palmitoyl transferase is rate-limiting in vivo because of the high malonyl-CoA concentration in heart and muscle.

The biochemistry of hypo- and hyperlipidemic fatty acid derivatives: metabolism and metabolic effects

A selection of amphipatic hyper- and hypolipidemic fatty acid derivatives (fibrates, thia- and branched chain fatty acids) are reviewed. They are probably all ligands for the peroxisome proliferation activation receptor (PPARalpha) which has a low selectivity for its ligands. These compounds give hyper- or hypolipidemic responses depending on their ability to inhibit or stimulate mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation in the liver. The hypolipidemic response is explained by the following metabolic effects: Lipoprotein lipase is induced in liver where it is normally not expressed. Apolipoprotein CIII is downregulated. These two effects in liver lead to a facilitated (re)uptake of chylomicrons and VLDL, thus creating a direct transport of fatty acids from the gut to the liver. Fatty acid metabolizing enzymes in the liver (CPT-I and II, peroxisomal and mitochondrial beta-oxidation enzymes, enzymes of ketogenesis, and omega-oxidation enzymes) are induced and create an increased capacity for fatty acid oxidation. The increased oxidation of fatty acids "drains" fatty acids from the body, reduces VLDL formation, and ultimately explains the antiadiposity and improved insulin sensitivity observed after administration of peroxisome proliferators.

In vivo measurements of control coefficients for hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in Xenopus laevis oocytes

Hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities were increased in Xenopus laevis oocytes by microinjection of commercial pure enzymes. The effect of increased fractional activities on glycogen synthesis or on the production of 14CO(2) (the oxidative portion of the pentose phosphate pathway) was investigated by microinjection of [1-(14)C]glucose and measurements of the radioactivity in glycogen and CO(2). Control coefficients calculated from the data show that hexokinase plays an important role in the control of glycogen synthesis (control coefficient=0.7) but its influence on the control of the pentose phosphate pathway is almost nil (control coefficient=-0.01). Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase injections did not affect the production of 14CO(2) by the pentose phosphate pathway, indicating that other factors control the operation of this pathway. In addition, an almost null control of this enzyme on glycogen synthesis flux was observed.

Comparisons of flux control exerted by mitochondrial outer-membrane carnitine palmitoyltransferase over ketogenesis in hepatocytes and mitochondria isolated from suckling or adult rats

The primary aim of this paper was to calculate and report flux control coefficients for mitochondrial outer-membrane carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT I) over hepatic ketogenesis because its role in controlling this pathway during the neonatal period is of academic importance and immediate clinical relevance. Using hepatocytes isolated from suckling rats as our model system, we measured CPT I activity and carbon flux from palmitate to ketone bodies and to CO2 in the absence and presence of a range of concentrations of etomoxir. (This is converted in situ to etomoxir-CoA which is a specific inhibitor of the enzyme.) From these data we calculated the individual flux control coefficients for CPT I over ketogenesis, CO2 production and total carbon flux (0.51 +/- 0.03; -1.30 +/- 0.26; 0.55 +/- 0.07, respectively) and compared them with equivalent coefficients calculated by similar analyses [Drynan, L., Quant, P.A. & Zammit, V.A. (1996) Biochem. J. 317, 791-795] in hepatocytes isolated from adult rats (0.85 +/- 0.20; 0.23 +/- 0.06; 1.06 +/- 0.29). CPT I exerts significantly less control over ketogenesis in hepatocytes isolated from suckling rats than those from adult rats. In the suckling systems the flux control coefficients for CPT I over ketogenesis specifically and over total carbon flux (< 0.6) are not consistent with the enzyme being rate-limiting. Broadly similar results were obtained and conclusions drawn by reanalysis of previous data {from experiments in mitochondria isolated from suckling or adult rats [Krauss, S., Lascelles, C.V., Zammit, V.A. & Quant, P.A. (1996) Biochem. J. 319, 427-433]} using a different approach of control analysis, although it is not strictly valid to compare flux control coefficients from different systems. Our overall conclusion is that flux control coefficients for CPT I over oxidative fluxes from palmitate (or palmitoyl-CoA) differ markedly according to (a) the metabolic state, (b) the stage of development, (c) the specific pathway studied and (d) the model system.

Oxidative activity in mitochondria isolated from rat liver at different stages of development

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the oxidative capacities in hepatic mitochondria isolated from prepubertal, young adult and adult rats (40, 90 and 180 days of age, respectively). In these rats, mitochondrial respiratory rates using FAD- and NAD-linked substrates as well as mitochondrial protein mass were measured. The results show that only the oxidative capacity of FAD-linked pathways significantly declined in mitochondria from 180-day-old rats compared with those from younger animals. When we consider FAD-linked respiration expressed per g liver, no significant difference was found among rats of different ages because of an increased mitochondrial protein mass found in 180-day-old rats. However, when FAD-linked and lipid-dependent respiratory rates were expressed per 100 g body weight, significant decreases occurred in 180-day-old rats. Therefore, the decrease in liver weight expressed per 100 g body weight rather than an impaired hepatic cellular activity may be the cause of body energy deficit in 180-day-old rats.

Lipid molecular order in liver mitochondrial outer membranes, and sensitivity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I to malonyl-CoA

Mitochondrial outer membranes were prepared from livers of rats that were in the normal fed state, starved for 48 h, or made diabetic by injection of streptozotocin. Membranes were also prepared from starved late-pregnant rats. The latter three conditions have previously been shown to induce varying degrees of desensitization of mitochondrial overt carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT I) to malonyl-CoA inhibition. We measured the fluorescence polarization anisotropy of two probes, 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) and 1-(4-trimethylammoniumphenyl)-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene-p-toluenes ulfonate (TMA-DPH) which, when incorporated into membranes, report on the hydrophobic core and on the peripheral regions of the bilayer, respectively. The corresponding polarization indices (rDPH and rTMA-DPH) were calculated. In membranes of all three conditions characterized by CPT I desensitization to malonyl-CoA, rDPH was decreased, whereas there was no change in rTMA-DPH, indicating that CPT I is sensitive to changes in membrane core, rather than peripheral, lipid order. The major lipid components of the membranes were analyzed. Although significant changes with physiological state were observed, there was no consistent pattern of changes in gross lipid composition accompanying the changes to membrane fluidity and CPT I sensitivity to malonyl-CoA. We conclude that CPT I kinetic characteristics are sensitive to changes in lipid composition that are localized to specific membrane microdomains.