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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Measurement of Fatty Acid β-Oxidation in a Suspension of Freshly Isolated Mouse Hepatocytes
Published on: September 9, 2021
Peroxisomal branched chain fatty acid beta-oxidation pathway is upregulated in prostate cancer
Shan Zha1, Sacha Ferdinandusse, Jessica L Hicks
1Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Abstract:
Overexpression of alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase (AMACR), an enzyme involved in branched chain fatty acid beta-oxidation, in prostate cancer has been reported. Here, we report that an enzyme downstream from AMACR in the peroxisomal branched chain fatty acid beta-oxidation pathway-D-bifunctional protein (DBP)-is also upregulated in prostate cancer at both mRNA and protein levels, accompanied by increased enzymatic activity. Furthermore, our data suggest that pristanoyl-CoA oxidase (ACOX3), which is expressed at extremely low level in other human organs studied including the liver, might contribute significantly to peroxisomal branched chain fatty acid beta-oxidation in human prostate tissue and some prostate cancer cell lines. In contrast to these results for peroxisomal enzymes, no significant expression changes of mitochondrial fatty acid beta-oxidation enzymes were observed in prostate cancer tissues through comprehensive quantitative RT-PCR screening. These data for the first time provide evidence for the selective over-activation of peroxisomal branched chain fatty acid beta-oxidation in prostate cancer, emphasizing a new metabolic change during prostate oncogenesis.
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