Kinetic properties of arachidonoyl-coenzyme A synthetase in rat brain microsomes

Free arachidonic acid is released rapidly in the brain at the onset of ischemia and during convulsions. The transient nature of this phenomenon indicates the existence of an active reacylation system for this fatty acid, likely an arachidonoyl-CoA synthetase-arachidonoyl transferase. The first of these enzymatic activities in brain microsomes was studied and it was found that 1-14C]arachidonic acid is rapidly activated and shows an absolute requirement for ATP and CoA. MgCl2 enhances this activity 10-fold. The optimum pH is 8.5, and the apparent Km values for the radiolabeled substrate, ATP, CoA, and MgCl2 are 36, 154, 8, and 182 microM, respectively. The apparent Vmax is 32.4 nmol/min/mg protein for arachidonic acid. The presence of Triton X-100 (0.1%) in the assay medium caused a significant reduction in apparent Km (9.4 microM) and Vmax (25.7 nmol/min/mg protein) values. The enzymatic activity is thermolabile with a T1/2 of less than 1 min at 45 degrees C and a maximal activity at 40 degrees C. The breaking point or transition temperature is 25 degrees C in an Arrhenius plot. The activation energies were 95 kJ/mol from 0 to 25 degrees C and 30 kJ/mol from 25 to 40 degrees C. Fatty acid competition studies showed inhibition by unlabeled docosahexaenoic and arachidonic acids with a Ki of 31 and 37 microM, respectively, in the absence and 18 and 7.7 microM in the presence of Triton X-100. Palmitic acid and oleic acid slightly inhibited the reaction whereas linoleic acid inhibited it to a moderate extent. It is concluded that this very active enzyme can activate arachidonic acid as well as docosahexaenoic acid in brain microsomes. In addition, this reaction may be involved in regulating the pool size of these free fatty acids in brain by rapid removal through activation, thus limiting eicosanoid formation. Moreover, the rapid formation of polyenoic acyl-coenzyme A may participate in the retention of essential fatty acids in the central nervous system.