The metabolism of synthetic peptide analogues of high density lipoprotein (HDL) apoproteins has been studied in the rat. These compounds are 15-amino acid lipid associating peptides (LAPs) bearing acyl chains of various lengths (0-16 carbon units). After injection of each 125I-LAP, the serum decay curves suggested a two-compartment process with a clearance rate decreasing when the acyl chain le...

Long-chain acyl-CoA esters are key metabolites in lipid synthesis and beta-oxidation but, at the same time, are important regulators of intermediate metabolism, insulin secretion, vesicular trafficking and gene expression. Key tools in studying the regulatory functions of acyl-CoA esters are reliable methods for the determination of free acyl-CoA concentrations. No such method is presently avai...

Bile salts such as cholate are steroid compounds occurring ubiquitously in the environment through excretion by animals. Cholate degradation by Pseudomonas sp. strain Choll is initiated by A ring oxidation and ~ oxidation of the acyl side chain. A transposon mutant of strain Choll was isolated that could not grow with cholate, but transformed it into several steroid compounds accumulating in cu...

Background: ABCD1 is a peroxisomal ABC transporter whose dysfunction causes X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD). Results: β-Oxidation of C26:0 as well as C22:0 acyl-CoA esters is impaired in X-ALD. ABCD3 accounts for residual β-oxidation activity in XALD fibroblasts. Conclusion: ABCD1 mediates very long-chain acyl-CoA ester β-oxidation without need for additional re-esterification by an acyl-...

Objective(s): This study intended to investigate the effects of Ginsenoside-Rbl (Gs-Rbl) on fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) in rat failing heart and to identify potential mechanisms of Gs-Rbl improving heart failure (HF) by FAO pathway dependent on AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Materials and Methods: Rats with chronic HF, induced by adriamycin (Adr), were randomly grouped into 7 groups. Gs-...

In the course of an exploratory investigation of antitumor-promoting catechins, 3-O-acyl-(+)-catechins of varying carbon lengths from C(4) to C(18) were assessed for inhibitory effects on the activation of the Epstein-Barr virus early antigen. Like 3-O-acyl-(-)-epigallocatechins, the (+)-catechin derivatives showed promising effects with the C-3 acyl chain of C(8)-C(11) carbon atoms.

Ceramide is an important lipid signaling molecule and a key intermediate in sphingolipid biosynthesis. Recent studies have implied a previously unappreciated role for the ceramide N-acyl chain length, inasmuch as ceramides containing specific fatty acids appear to play defined roles in cell physiology. The discovery of a family of mammalian ceramide synthases (CerS), each of which utilizes a re...

Acetylation of added (-)carnitine by heart mitochondira coupled to the oxidation of pyruvate in the presence of malonate was inhibited, apparently competitively, by long chain acyl(+)carnitines although the activity of carnitine acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.7) itself was not affected. Mitochondria have been found to possess a translocase system that allows the transport of carnitine and acylcarn...

To investigate the importance of increased hydrophobicity at the amino end of antimicrobial peptides, a dermaseptin derivative was used as a template for a systematic acylation study. Through a gradual increase of the acyl moiety chain length, hydrophobicity was monitored and further modulated by acyl conversion to aminoacyl. The chain lengths of the acyl derivatives correlated with a gradual i...