Publications

• Purification and properties of carnitine acetyltransferase from rat liver.

  Miyazawa S., Ozasa H., Furuta S., Osumi T., Hashimoto T.

  Carnitine acetyltransferase was purified from rat liver after induction of the enzyme by feeding with di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate. Two enzyme sources were used: the mitochondrial fraction and the homogenate of the liver. The purification procedure was essentially the same for the two enzyme sources. ... >> More

  Carnitine acetyltransferase was purified from rat liver after induction of the enzyme by feeding with di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate. Two enzyme sources were used: the mitochondrial fraction and the homogenate of the liver. The purification procedure was essentially the same for the two enzyme sources. The enzyme purified from the mitochondrial fraction consisted of two different polypeptides with molecular weights of 36,500 and 27,000, whereas that from the homogenate consisted of one polypeptide with a molecular weight of 67,500. Amino acid compositions and peptide maps of the limited proteolytic products of the two enzyme preparations were nearly the same. Their antibodies were cross-reactive. Catalytic properties of the two preparations were nearly the same: the specific enzyme activities, double reciprocal plots of initial velocity study, substrate specificities for acylcarnitines having various carbon chain lengths, apparent Michaelis constants for substrates. On electrophoresis of the immunoprecipitate obtained after incubation of the mitochondrial extract, the two immunoreactive polypeptides with molecular weights of 36,500 and 27,000 were found. But only one polypeptide, with molecular weight of 67,500, was detected when the protease inhibitors were added to the mitochondrial extract. It was concluded that the enzyme in the mitochondrial fraction was a monomeric form but was converted into a dimeric form by proteolytic modification after the disruption of mitochondria. The preparation from the post-mitochondrial fraction, which had a lower specific activity, contained two polypeptides whose molecular weights were 69,000 and 67,500. They could not be separated from each other throughout the purification. The peptide maps of the products of the limited proteolysis were very similar. << Less

  J Biochem 93:439-451(1983) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Crystal structures of murine carnitine acetyltransferase in ternary complexes with its substrates.

  Hsiao Y.S., Jogl G., Tong L.

  Carnitine acyltransferases catalyze the reversible exchange of acyl groups between coenzyme A (CoA) and carnitine. They have important roles in many cellular processes, especially the oxidation of long-chain fatty acids in the mitochondria for energy production, and are attractive targets for drug ... >> More

  Carnitine acyltransferases catalyze the reversible exchange of acyl groups between coenzyme A (CoA) and carnitine. They have important roles in many cellular processes, especially the oxidation of long-chain fatty acids in the mitochondria for energy production, and are attractive targets for drug discovery against diabetes and obesity. To help define in molecular detail the catalytic mechanism of these enzymes, we report here the high resolution crystal structure of wild-type murine carnitine acetyltransferase (CrAT) in a ternary complex with its substrates acetyl-CoA and carnitine, and the structure of the S554A/M564G double mutant in a ternary complex with the substrates CoA and hexanoylcarnitine. Detailed analyses suggest that these structures may be good mimics for the Michaelis complexes for the forward and reverse reactions of the enzyme, representing the first time that such complexes of CrAT have been studied in molecular detail. The structural information provides significant new insights into the catalytic mechanism of CrAT and possibly carnitine acyltransferases in general. << Less

  J Biol Chem 281:28480-28487(2006) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Structural and mutational characterization of L-carnitine binding to human carnitine acetyltransferase.

  Govindasamy L., Kukar T., Lian W., Pedersen B., Gu Y., Agbandje-McKenna M., Jin S., McKenna R., Wu D.

  We report the crystal structure of a binary complex of human peroxisomal carnitine acetyltransferase and the substrate l-carnitine, refined to a resolution of 1.8 Angstrom with an R(factor) value of 18.9% (R(free)=22.3%). L-carnitine binds to a preformed pocket in the active site tunnel of carniti ... >> More

  We report the crystal structure of a binary complex of human peroxisomal carnitine acetyltransferase and the substrate l-carnitine, refined to a resolution of 1.8 Angstrom with an R(factor) value of 18.9% (R(free)=22.3%). L-carnitine binds to a preformed pocket in the active site tunnel of carnitine acetyltransferase aligned with His(322). The quaternary nitrogen of carnitine forms a pi-cation interaction with Phe(545), while Arg(497) forms an electrostatic interaction with the negatively charged carboxylate group. An extensive hydrogen bond network also occurs between the carboxylate group and Tyr(431), Thr(444), and a bound water molecule. Site-directed mutagenesis and kinetic characterization reveals that Tyr(431), Thr(444), Arg(497), and Phe(545) are essential for high affinity binding of L-carnitine. << Less

  J. Struct. Biol. 146:416-424(2004) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Structural and biochemical studies of the substrate selectivity of carnitine acetyltransferase.

  Hsiao Y.-S., Jogl G., Tong L.

  Carnitine acyltransferases catalyze the exchange of acyl groups between coenzyme A (CoA) and carnitine. They have important roles in many cellular processes, especially the oxidation of long-chain fatty acids, and are attractive targets for drug discovery against diabetes and obesity. These enzyme ... >> More

  Carnitine acyltransferases catalyze the exchange of acyl groups between coenzyme A (CoA) and carnitine. They have important roles in many cellular processes, especially the oxidation of long-chain fatty acids, and are attractive targets for drug discovery against diabetes and obesity. These enzymes are classified based on their substrate selectivity for short-chain, medium-chain, or long-chain fatty acids. Structural information on carnitine acetyltransferase suggests that residues Met-564 and Phe-565 may be important determinants of substrate selectivity with the side chain of Met-564 located in the putative binding pocket for acyl groups. Both residues are replaced by glycine in carnitine palmitoyltransferases. To assess the functional relevance of this structural observation, we have replaced these two residues with small amino acids by mutagenesis, characterized the substrate preference of the mutants, and determined the crystal structures of two of these mutants. Kinetic studies confirm that the M564G or M564A mutation is sufficient to increase the activity of the enzyme toward medium-chain substrates with hexanoyl-CoA being the preferred substrate for the M564G mutant. The crystal structures of the M564G mutant, both alone and in complex with carnitine, reveal a deep binding pocket that can accommodate the larger acyl group. We have determined the crystal structure of the F565A mutant in a ternary complex with both the carnitine and CoA substrates at a 1.8-A resolution. The F565A mutation has minor effects on the structure or the substrate preference of the enzyme. << Less

  J. Biol. Chem. 279:31584-31589(2004) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]