Substrate Report for: Palmitoylcarnitine

To identify the peroxisome proliferator-inducible acylcarnitine hydrolase in C57BL/6 mice, acylcarnitine hydrolase was purified to homogeneity using column chromatography. The purified enzyme, named ACH M1, had a subunit molecular weight of 60kDa. ACH M1 could hydrolyze classical carboxylesterase (CES) substrates as well as palmitoyl-dl-carnitine and these activities were inhibited by anti-rat CES antibodies. The peptide fragments of ACH M1 were identical to those of the deduced amino acid sequence of mouse CES2 isozyme. These findings suggested that ACH M1 was a member of the CES2 family. The mouse CES2 cDNA, designated mCES2, was cloned from mouse liver. The recombinant mCES2 expressing in Sf9 cells showed high level of catalytic activity toward acylcarnitines. Furthermore, the biological characteristics of the expressed protein were identical with those of ACH M1 in many cases, suggesting that mCES2 encodes mouse liver ACH M1.

The subcellular distribution and sidedness on the membranes of four chemically and genetically distinct esterases (esterases ES-3, ES-4, ES-8, ES-15) in rat liver was investigated using selective substrates. (1) Rat liver homogenate was divided into nine subcellular fractions by differential centrifugation techniques. The cell fractions were assayed for the enzymatic hydrolysis of acetanilide (ES-3), propanidid, palmitoyl-CoA and monopalmitoylglycerol (ES-4), methyl butyrate and octanoylglycerol (ES-8), and decanoylcarnitine (ES-15). With all substrates, the highest specific activities were found in the rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum fractions. This localization of the esterases was confirmed by labelling the cell fractions with the specific, covalently binding inhibitor bis(4-nitro[14C]phenyl) phosphate. The enzymatic hydrolysis of the palmitoyl esters in differing cell fractions did not completely parallel that of propanidid. This confirms the well-known existence of palmitoyl-CoA hydrolases other than esterase ES-4. (2) Density gradient fractionations with crude mitochondria indicated that a low amount of at least one of these carboxylesterases was an integral part of these organelles too. (3) Proteinase treatment reduced the non-specific esterase activities as well as lipase activities versus dioctanoylglycerol, acylcarnitines and palmitoyl-CoA only in detergent-disrupted microsomal vesicles. This might indicate a lumenal orientation of these enzymes. However, of the charged substrates palmitoylcarnitine and palmitoyl-CoA only the latter one showed the typical latency to be expected for a hydrolysis in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum.

One of the previously described five purified monoglyceride-cleaving carboxylesterases from rat liver microsomes proved to be a carnitine ester hydrolase. This esterase, with an isoelectric point of 5.2, is most active with medium-chain acyl-L-carnitines (C12-C14). The esterase is also remarkably active with 1,3-diglycerides, especially 1,3-dioctanoylglycerol, that are hydrolyzed faster than the corresponding 1-monoglycerides and triglycerides. Only one of the other four purified carboxylesterases has moderate acylcarnitine-hydrolyzing activity. An altered procedure for the separation of the two microsomal acylcarnitine-cleaving enzymes is described. Both enzymes hydrolyze carnitine esters optimally at pH 8 and both are inactive with acetylcarnitine, palmitoyl-CoA, and butyrylthiocholine. The possible natural functions of the hydrolases are discussed. Besides their detoxifying action on natural membrane-lysing detergents (like carnitine esters and lysophospholipids), these enzymes could be involved in the transport of carnitine out of the liver.