Mutagenesis of specific amino acids converts carnitine acetyltransferase into carnitine palmitoyltransferase

Carnitine acyltransferases catalyze the exchange of acyl groups between carnitine and CoA. The members of the family can be classified on the basis of their acyl-CoA selectivity. Carnitine acetyltransferases (CrATs) are very active toward short-chain acyl-CoAs but not toward medium- or long-chain acyl-CoAs. Previously, we identified an amino acid residue (Met(564) in rat CrAT) that was critical to fatty acyl-chain-length specificity. M564G-mutated CrAT behaved as if its natural substrates were medium-chain acyl-CoAs, similar to that of carnitine octanoyltransferase (COT). To extend the specificity of rat CrAT to other substrates, we have performed new mutations. Using in silico molecular modeling procedures, we have now identified a second putative amino acid involved in acyl-CoA specificity (Asp(356) in rat CrAT). The double CrAT mutant D356A/M564G showed 6-fold higher activity toward palmitoyl-CoA than that of the single CrAT mutant M564G and a new activity toward stearoyl-CoA. We show that by performing two amino acid replacements a CrAT can be converted into a pseudo carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) in terms of substrate specificity. To change CrAT specificity from carnitine to choline, we also prepared a mutant CrAT that incorporates four amino acid substitutions (A106M/T465V/T467N/R518N). The quadruple mutant shifted the catalytic discrimination between l-carnitine and choline in favor of the latter substrate and showed a 9-fold increase in catalytic efficiency toward choline compared with that of the wild-type. Molecular in silico docking supports kinetic data for the positioning of substrates in the catalytic site of CrAT mutants.     

Long-Term Increased Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase 1A Expression in Ventromedial Hypotalamus Causes Hyperphagia and Alters the Hypothalamic Lipidomic Profile

Lipid metabolism in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) has emerged as a crucial pathway in the regulation of feeding and energy homeostasis. Carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) 1A is the rate-limiting enzyme in mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation and it has been proposed as a crucial mediator of fasting and ghrelin orexigenic signalling. However, the relationship between changes in CPT1A activity and the intracellular downstream effectors in the VMH that contribute to appetite modulation is not fully understood. To this end, we examined the effect of long-term expression of a permanently activated CPT1A isoform by using an adeno-associated viral vector injected into the VMH of rats. Peripherally, this procedure provoked hyperghrelinemia and hyperphagia, which led to overweight, hyperglycemia and insulin resistance. In the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH), long-term CPT1AM expression in the VMH did not modify acyl-CoA or malonyl-CoA levels. However, it altered the MBH lipidomic profile since ceramides and sphingolipids increased and phospholipids decreased. Furthermore, we detected increased vesicular γ-aminobutyric acid transporter (VGAT) and reduced vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2) expressions, both transporters involved in this orexigenic signal. Taken together, these observations indicate that CPT1A contributes to the regulation of feeding by modulating the expression of neurotransmitter transporters and lipid components that influence the orexigenic pathways in VMH.     

Isolation and partial characterization of a protein with HMG-CoA reductase phosphatase activity associated with rat liver microsomal membranes.

Several rat liver HMG-CoA-reductase (HMG-CoA-Rd) phosphatase activities have been shown to be associated with the endoplasmic reticulum. These activities were not due to glycogen contamination, as judged not only from different patterns of solubilization of the microsomal membranes and the glycogen pellet but also by differential centrifugation behavior under standard conditions and in a sucrose gradient. We present evidence that at least three forms of protein phosphatase are associated with microsomal membranes: a polycation-stimulated type 2A phosphatase, a type 2C phosphatase, and a non-2A, non-2B, non-2C phosphatase. This last HMG-CoA-Rd phosphatase activity corresponding to an 85 kDa protein was partially purified by several chromatographic procedures. The IC50 value for the inhibition of the HMG-CoA-Rd phosphatase by I-2 was 10-fold higher than for the inhibition of the purified type 1 catalytic subunit from rabbit skeletal muscle. The microsomal HMG-CoA-Rd phosphatase activity was slightly affected by the protein inhibitor that inhibits type 2A activity when HMG-CoA reductase is the substrate. The HMG-CoA-Rd phosphatase activity is spontaneously active and it is not reactivated in the presence of Mg2+ or polycations. The holoenzyme does not contain the inhibitor-2 and it is not reactivated by incubation with ATP and glycogen synthase kinase-3. Proteolytic treatment of the enzyme yielded a polypeptide fragment of low Mr (37 kDa) with reduced activity. A model of holoenzymatic HMG-CoA-Rd phosphatase and its relation to the microsomal membranes is presented.     

Some properties of purified 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase phosphatases from rat liver

Incubation of four purified rat liver 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase phosphatases (G. Gil, M. Sitges, and F. G. Hegardt, (1981) Biochim. Biophys. Acta663, 211–221) with HMG-CoA, CoA, NADPH, or citrate caused a concentration-dependent inactivation of the enzyme activities. HMG-CoA and CoA showed similar patterns of inactivation and at 0.5 mm of both compounds, the four reductase phosphatases were fully inhibited. Half-maximal inactivation was comprised between 0.02 and 0.1 mm of HMG-CoA and CoA. NADPH at concentration ranging between 5 and 10 mm produced complete inactivation of reductase phosphatases. Citrate at 5 mm produced full inactivation, and half-maximal inhibition ranged from 0.1 to 0.4 mm for the different phosphatases. The behavior of fluoride varied with respect to the four phosphatases: Low molecular forms were inactivated in a similar manner as described for other protein phosphatases. However, high molecular forms were slightly inactivated, and phosphatase IIa at 100 mm showed a level of activity similar to the control. The effect of KCl on the four reductase phosphatases could explain this behavior since at high concentrations, KCl (and NaCl) produced activation in both high and low molecular forms, this effect being more enhanced in high M_r reductase phosphatases. The insensitivity to fluoride of high M_r reductase phosphatases could explain the discrepancies in percentage of the active form of HMG-CoA reductase described previously in literature.     

Phosphorylation of HMG-CoA reductase induced by mevalonate accelerates its rate of degradation in isolated rat hepatocytes

Incubation of rat hepatocytes with 10 mM mevalonate produces a decrease in HMG-CoA reductase activity and in the rate of synthesis of both monomeric and dimeric HMG-CoA reductase, and an increase in the rate of degradation of the monomeric form without significant change in that of the dimeric form. Since mevalonate promotes a short-term phosphorylation of the monomeric form without affecting the dimeric form, it is suggested that the mechanism of degradation of reductase is controlled by its phosphorylation state.     

Purification and characterization of a protein inhibitor from rat liver that inhibits type 1 protein phosphatase when 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase is the substrate

A protein inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase phosphatase activity from rat liver was purified to homogeneity. The protein was purified 4,000-fold with an overall yield of 4%. The purified protein had a molecular mass of 31 kDa. This spontaneously active protein is thermostable and acid-resistant. The protein inhibitor is phosphorylated by glycogen synthase kinase-3 and cAMP-dependent protein kinase without change in its inhibitory activity. The inhibition caused by this inhibitor on phosphatases 1 and 2A is similar to that of inhibitor-2 from rabbit skeletal muscle using hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase as substrate. The regulation properties of this inhibitor towards phosphatase 1 together with another protein inhibitor of phosphatase 2A in cholesterol metabolism are discussed.     

Evolution of androgen-regulated mRNA expression in mouse kidney

To gain information on the evolution of mammalian gene expression patterns, we studied the androgen-inducible expression of three kidney mRNAs in several mouse species (genus Mus). The RP2, ornithine decarboxylase, and beta-glucuronidase mRNAs have each evolved independently, in that the pattern of variation among species is unique for each. This suggests a role for gene-specific, cis-acting genetic elements. Relationships between the regulatory phenotypes and the species phylogeny suggest that the variations in hormone-inducible mRNA expression were generated by a series of independent mutations that occurred in specific lineages, resulting in modifications of the progenitor phenotype. Alternatively, the variations may have preexisted within the progenitor population as polymorphisms that were fixed during establishment of individual lineages. Thus, significant alterations in the androgen-regulated mRNA phenotype have occurred either prior to or during speciation within the Mus genus. These alterations are presumed to be in regulatory sequences that control the expression of the corresponding genes and their response to testosterone; as such, they should be useful in further studying the genetic determinants of gene expression and its evolution.