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Mitochondrial enzyme activities (cytochrome c-oxidase = COX, carnitine acyl-transferase = CAT, citrate synthase = CS, lipoamide dehydrogenase = lipDH from the pyruvate-dehydrogenase complex, lactate dehydrogenase = LDH, and malate-dehydrogenase = MDH) were measured from progressive myopathy/encephalomyopathy. Cytochrome oxidase (COX) deficiency was detected from muscle or liver tissues, adult type of COX defectus had been diagnosed in 1 case and infantile type in further 6 cases. The 3 familial atactic children showed decreased activity of carnitine acetyl-transferase, too.

Carnitine acetyltransferase was isolated from yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae with an apparent molecular weight of 400,000. The enzyme contains identical subunits of 65,000 Da. The Km values of the isolated enzyme for acetyl-CoA and for carnitine were 17.7 microM and 180 microM, respectively. Carnitine acetyltransferase is an inducible enzyme, a 15-fold increase in the enzyme activity was found when the cells were grown on glycerol instead of glucose. Carnitine acetyltransferase, similarly to citrate synthase, has a double localization (approx. 80% of the enzyme is mitochondrial), while acetyl-CoA synthetase was found only in the cytosol. In the mitochondria carnitine acetyltransferase is located in the matrix space. The incorporation of 14C into CO2 and in lipids showed a similar ratio, 2.9 and 2.6, when the substrate was [1-14C]acetate and [1-14C]acetylcarnitine, respectively. Based on these results carnitine acetyltransferase can be considered as an enzyme necessary for acetate metabolism by transporting the activated acetyl group from the cytosol into the mitochondrial matrix.

Respiration-linked oxidation of 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA, crotonyl-CoA and saturated fatty acyl (C4, C8 and C14)-CoA esters was studied in different mitochondrial preparations. Oxidation of acyl-CoA esters was poor in intact mitochondria; however, it was significant, as well as, NAD+ and CoA-dependent in gently and in vigorously sonicated mitochondria. The respiration-linked oxidation of crotonyl-CoA and 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA proceeded at much higher rates (over 700%) in gently disrupted mitochondria than in completely disrupted mitochondria. The redox dye-linked oxidation of crotonyl-CoA (with inhibited respiratory chain) was also higher in gently disrupted mitochondria (149%) than in disrupted ones. During the respiration-linked oxidation of 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA the steady-state NADH concentrations in the reaction chamber were determined, and found to be 8 microM in gently sonicated and 15 microM in completely sonicated mitochondria in spite of the observation that the gently sonicated mitochondria oxidized the 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA much faster than the completely sonicated mitochondria. The NAD(+)-dependence of 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA oxidation showed that a much smaller NAD+ concentration was enough to half-saturate the reaction in gently disrupted mitochondria than in completely disrupted ones. Thus, these observations indicate the positive kinetic consequence of organization of beta-oxidation enzymes in situ. Respiration-linked oxidation of butyryl-, octanoyl- and palmitoyl-CoA was also studied and these CoA intermediates were oxidized at approx. 50% of the rate of crotonyl- and 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA in the gently disrupted mitochondria. In vigorously disrupted mitochondria the oxidation rate of these saturated acyl-CoA intermediates was hardly detectable indicating that the connection between the acyl-CoA dehydrogenase and the respiratory chain had been disrupted.

It was shown that carnitine deficiency and an impairment of the conversion of butyrobetaine into carnitine develops not only in ascorbic acid-deficient guinea-pigs but also in partially starved animals. We propose that the same mechanism, an absolute or relative ascorbic acid deficiency, is operating in both nutritional states. An increased urinary excretion greatly contributes to the development of carnitine deficiency in guinea-pigs, both in ascorbic acid deficiency and starvation. With respect to the greatly increased excretion, guinea-pig carnitine deficiency resembles the human disorder and may serve as model for it.

The phenomenon of paracatalytic inactivation has been demonstrated and characterized with the pig heart pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. The enzyme became progressively inactive when it was preincubated in the presence of pyruvate, thiamine pyrophosphate, and extrinsic oxidative agent, 2,6-dichloroindophenol. Not only the overall reaction of enzyme complex but the individual reactions catalyzed by enzyme components, pyruvate dehydrogenase, and dihydrolipoamide acetyltrasferase, were reduced after preincubation. The observed inactivation is due to two factors: (i) covalent incorporation of the pyruvate atoms, and (ii) formation of a thiamine pyrophosphate analog. (i) A covalent incorporation of radioactivity from [2-14C]pyruvate into the enzyme complex, which was proportional to the inhibition of overall reaction was observed. Seventy-eight percent of the radioactivity incorporated into the dihydrolipoamide transacetylase but not into the lipoic acid. Thus, modification of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase component can be attributed to the covalent incorporation of pyruvate atoms. (ii) During inactivation, the enzyme-bound thiamine pyrophosphate underwent a modification resulting in the formation of a thiamine pyrophosphate analog, presumably thiamine thiazolone pyrophosphate, which inhibited exclusively the pyruvate dehydrogenase component.

Kinetic studies of the individual reaction of pig heart pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (pyruvate dehydrogenase (pyruvate:lipoamide oxidoreductase (decarboxylating and acceptor-acetylating), EC 1.2.4.1); dihydrolipoamide reductase(NAD+) (NADH:lipoamide oxidoreductase, EC 1.6.4.3); dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (acetyl-CoA:dihydrolipoamide S-acetyltransferase, EC 2.3.1.12)), citrate synthase (citrate oxaloacetate-lyase (pro-3S-CH2COO- leads to acetyl-CoA), EC 4.1.3.7) and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex-citrate synthase coupled system show that the KmCoA value of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and KmCoASAc value of citrate synthase decrease in the coupled system when compared to those in the individual enzyme reactions. The explanation for this interaction may be an association between the two enzymes. When it was centrifuged with 150 000 x g for 140 min, 30% of the citrate synthase sedimented in the presence of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, while no sedimentation was observed in the absence of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Sedimentation of cytoplasmic malate dehydrogenase, phosphotransacetylase, hemoglobin and Blue albumin were negligible under the same condition. In gel chromatography experiments a significant peak of citrate synthase activity co-migrated with the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex peak. This observation also suggests the possible association of two enzymes.

In the enzymatic acetylation of para-nitroaniline the esters of para-amino-benzoic acid act as inhibitors since they serve as alternative acceptor substrates. The extent of inhibition is increased by increasing the number of carbon atoms of the alcohol moiety of the esters. The apparent Km value of esters as acceptor substrates decreases by almost one order of magnitude from 1.1 times 10- minus 4 to 2.5 times 10- minus 5 M within the methylester-butylester series. It has been shown by kinetic analyses that the esters are non-competitive inhibitors in respect of the acetyl donor, whereas they are competitive inhibitors in respect of the acetyl acceptor, in the acetylation reaction of paranitroaniline.

At low thiamine pyrophosphate concentrations the time-course of the reaction catalyzed by mammalian pyruvate dehydrogenase complex shows a lag period of some minutes when the reaction is started by either enzyme, pyruvate or thiamine pyrophosphate. However, started by CoASH or NAD+, the lag period disappears. An increase in enzyme concentration to 25 mU/ml causes a concomitant shortening of the duration of the lag period (tau), while above this value tau is independent of the enzyme concentration. An increase in thiamine pyrophosphate concentration decreases the value of tau and the lag period vanishes at infinite thiamine pyrophosphate concentration. It is suggested that both isomerization and aggregation-dissociation reactions may play an improtant role in the development of the lag period of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.

The concentration of total carnitine in human breast milk remained at a constant mean level near 62.9 range: 56.0-69.8/nmoles/ml during the first 21 days postpartum. The carnitine level fell significantly to 35.2 +/- 1.26 nmoles/ml until the 40-50th day. The carnitine concentrations did not depend on the secreted volume of milk. In comparison, fresh and commercial pasteurized cow's milk contained 206.2 (range: 192-269) nmoles/ml and 160.0 (range: 158-200) nmoles/ml carnitine, respectively. In the sera of nursing mothers, the concentration of total carnitine was lower on the first day after delivery (27.2 +/- 1.19 nmoles/ml) but returned to normal by the 21st day postpartum (38.8 +/- 2.97 nmoles/ml).

1. Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was isolated from pigeon breast muscle involving steps of isoelectric precipitation, poly(ethyleneglycol) fractionation and separation on a glycerine gradient in the ultracentrifuge. 2. Arsenite, a potent inhibitor of the dihydrolipoyl transcetylase, did not affect the formation of acetoin from acetaldehyde, indicating that the pyruvate dehydrogenase component was operative in this reaction. 3. Production of acetoin by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is subject to regulation by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, the dephosphorylated form only being active. 4. The inhibition by acetaldehyde of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex could be partly explained by the formation of acetoin as an alternative reaction.

In the progress curve of the reaction of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, a lag phase was observed when the concentration of thiamin diphosphate was lower than usual (about 0.2-1 mM) in the enzyme assay. The length of the lag phase was dependent on thiamin diphosphate concentration, ranging from 0.2 min to 2 min as the thiamin diphosphate concentration varied from 800 nM to 22 nM. The lag phase was also observed in the elementary steps catalyzed by the pyruvate dehydrogenase component. A Km value of 107 nM was found for thiamin diphosphate with respect to the steady-state reaction rate following the lag phase. The pre-steady-state kinetic data indicate that the resulting lag phase was the consequence of a slow holoenzyme formation from apoenzyme and thiamin diphosphate. The thiamin diphosphate can bind to the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in the absence of pyruvate, but the presence of 2 mM pyruvate increases the rate constant of binding from 1.4 X 10(4) M-1 S-1 to 1.3 X 10(5) M-1 S-1 and decreases the rate constant of dissociation from 2.3 X 10(-2) S-1 to 4.1 X 10(-3) S-1. On the other hand, the effect of pyruvate on the thiamin diphosphate binding revealed the existence of a thiamin-diphosphate-independent pyruvate-binding site in the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Direct evidence was also obtained with fluorescence techniques for the existence of this binding site and the dissociation constant of pyruvate was found to be 0.38 mM. On the basis of these data we have proposed a random mechanism for the binding of pyruvate and thiamin diphosphate to the complex. Binding of substrates to the enzyme complex caused an increase in the fluorescence of the dansylaziridine-labelled pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, showing that binding of substrates to the complex is accompanied by structural changes.

Perfused rat liver was shown to be the proper model for studies on hepatic cellular transport of carnitine. During recirculating perfusion the livers kept equilibrium with 45 nmol/ml total carnitine in perfusate, exhibited concentrative uptake and there was no sign of artificial leakage. The release side of the carnitine transport was characterized by utilizing outflow perfusions. The livers from fed rats exported daily 9.93 mumol per 100 g body weight total carnitine. This release rate is 4- or 10-fold higher than the estimated daily turnover in vivo or the measured urinary excretion. Therefore, the major part of the released carnitine has to re-enter the liver. The outward carnitine transport does not depend on energy or the Na+-K+ pump, since it did not respond to metabolic poisons and ouabain. However, the release rate was strongly inhibited by mersalyl and showed saturability in function of tissue carnitine levels. The Vmax of the saturable outward transport system was 2.47 nmol . min-1 . g-1 liver, the apparent Km was 0.27 mM tissue level (both as compared to total carnitine). These data showed the outward transport of carnitine from the liver to be protein mediated. The contribution of a diffusion (nonsaturable) component was estimated to be 20-25% in the range of tissue levels occurring in vivo. The rate of carnitine release from the liver decreased as an effect of 24 h starvation from the daily 9.92 mumol release to 6.55 mumol on 100 g body weight basis. This decrease is more pronounced when the release rates are expressed on the basis of tissue carnitine levels. The resulting value can be called rate constant (at the linear part of the saturation curve, Fig. 5) and it decreased to 5.00 min-1 from 8.41 min-1 as an effect of starvation. We have concluded that the altered parameters of carnitine transport across the liver cell is decisive in developing the higher hepatic carnitine concentration in the fasted state.

The ratio of aceytlcarnitine to carnitine was unchanged in the interscapular brown fatty tissue of rats which were kept at 5 degrees C. The quantity of total acid soluble carnitine relative to the fat-free dry weight was also unchanged. On the other hand a small decrease of the environmental temperature from 23 degrees C to 18 degree C and 20 degrees C resulted in a significant increase in the acetylcarnitine to carnitine ratio.

Buformin at a concentration of 1--2.5 mM stimulates solubilized carnitine palmitoyltransferase by reducing the inhibitory effect of palmitoyl-CoA. Neither buformin nor metformin inhibits the solubilized carnitine palmitoyltransferase.

The kinetic parameters of the individual reaction of pig heart alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex, succinate thiokinase and the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex-succinate thiokinase coupled system were studied. The KCoAm of alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex and the K-succinyl CoAm of succinate thiokinase decreased in the coupled system when compared to those of the individual enzyme reactions. This phenomenon can be explained by the interaction between the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex and succinate thiokinase. By means of poly(ethylene glycol) precipitation, ultracentrifugation and gel chromatography we were able to detect a physical interaction between the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex and succinate thiokinase. Of the seven investigated proteins only succinate thiokinase showed association with alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex. On the other hand, succinate thiokinase did not associate with other high molecular weight mitochondrial enzymes such as pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and glutamate dehydrogenase. On this basis, the interaction between succinate thiokinase and alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex was assumed to be specific. These in vitro data raise the possibility that a portion of the citric acid cycle enzymes exists as a large multienzyme complex in the mitochondrial matrix.

We investigated the effect of denervation upon the concentration of carnitine, the activity of carnitine palmityltransferase and carnitine acetyltransferase in the "red" soleus and "white" extensor digitorum longus muscles of the rat. Soon after denervation a marked drop in the amount of muscle carnitine was observed, that was more pronounced in the "red" soleus. The activity of both CPT and CAT decreased in both types of muscle, but CPT activity decreased to a greater extent in the soleus than in the EDL. These data may be indicative of a more impaired fat combustion in the "red" than in the "white" muscle following denervation.

Previously, the release of carnitine from the perfused rat liver was found to be protein-mediated, dependent on the nutritional state but not on metabolic energy. Further, it was shown to exceed the physiological demand by about 10-fold (Sandor et al. (1985) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 835, 83-91). In the present study the uptake of carnitine by perfused rat liver has been investigated. The liver tissue and the perfusate were in equilibrium when the carnitine concentration in the perfusate was close to 45 microM, physiological in the rat plasma. Under this condition, when no net carnitine transport occurred, an unidirectional uptake of L-[3H]carnitine was observed. Quantitatively, the uptake rate was 355 +/- 60 (S.D.) nmol/h per 100 g body weight at 45-50 microM perfusate concentration. This uptake capacity balances the previously reported excessive release (Sandor et al., op. cit.). On this basis we propose that a futile release/uptake cycle operates in carnitine transport across the liver cell membrane. Liverse of 24-h starved rats took up L-[3H]carnitine at 56% higher rate from the perfusate (75 microM) than livers of fed rats. Kinetic analysis revealed that fasting caused a decrease in Km value from 4.22 mM to 2.59 mM, whereas Vmax remained practically unchanged, average 0.95 mumol/min per 100 g body weight. D-[3H]Carnitine was transported at the same rate as L-carnitine and underwent the effect of fasting as well. The uptake was partially inhibited by 1 mM 2,4-dinitrophenol and 5 mM KCN, showing its dependency on metabolic energy. If Li+ replaced Na+ a strong inhibitory effect (to 20% of control) was observed, which suggests a co-transport of carnitine with Na+. Mersalyl, an SH reagent, had no effect on the uptake, whereas it practically abolished the release of carnitine from the perfused livers. This observation suggests that the inward and outward transport of carnitine are mediated by two different proteins.

In this paper, physicochemical evidence is given for the association between the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (EC 1.2.4.1) and citrate synthase (EC 4.1.3.7) with two gel chromatographic techniques with poly(ethylene glycol) co-precipitation and with ultracentrifugation. Experiments with active enzyme gel chromatography indicate that citrate synthase also associates with pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in its functioning state. Citrate synthase binds to the isolated transacetylase core of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, but in the binding to the whole pyruvate dehydrogenase complex the two other components of the complex are also involved. One pyruvate dehydrogenase complex can bind 10-11 citrate synthase dimers, and the dissociation constant is about 5.7-6.0 microM as determined by two independent methods. The association between the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and citrate synthase raises the possibility of the dynamic compartmentation of acetyl-CoA in the mitochondria which results in the direction of acetyl-CoA from pyruvate towards citrate.

When the carnitine pool of fed rats was labelled with tritium, in non-recirculating perfusate of their liver 44% of acid-soluble 3H activity was identified as free carnitine and 47% as short-chain acylcarnitine. Of the latter component acetylcarnitine accounted for 30% and propionylcarnitine for 10% of total acid-soluble. In plasma the contribution of short-chain acylcarnitines to total carnitine in fed, fasted and diabetic rats was 15.6%, 43.1% and 48.0%, respectively. Recirculating perfusion of livers from the same animals revealed that livers from fed rats released short-chain acylcarnitines as much as 56.2% of total and this proportion did not increase further in the other two groups. At the same time, ketone bodies in the perfusate increased gradually in the fed, fasted and diabetic group, paralleling the plasma ketone levels. Although liver supplies the organism with carnitine the increment of plasma short-chain acylcarnitines seen in ketosis is not a result of some extra output by the liver.