Oleamide synthesizing activity from rat kidney: identification as cytochrome c

Oleamide (cis-9-octadecenamide) is the prototype member of an emerging class of lipid signaling molecules collectively known as the primary fatty acid amides. Current evidence suggests that oleamide participates in the biochemical mechanisms underlying the drive to sleep, thermoregulation, and antinociception. Despite the potential importance of oleamide in these physiologic processes, the biochemical pathway for its synthesis in vivo has not been established. We report here the discovery of an oleamide synthetase found in rat tissues using [(14)C]oleoyl-CoA and ammonium ion. Hydrogen peroxide was subsequently found to be a required cofactor. The enzyme displayed temperature and pH optima in the physiologic range, a remarkable resistance to proteolysis, and specificity for long-chain acyl-CoA substrates. The reaction demonstrated Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a K(m) for oleoyl-CoA of 21 microm. Proteomic, biochemical, and immunologic analyses were used to identify the source of the oleamide synthesizing activity as cytochrome c. This identification was based upon peptide mass fingerprinting of isolated synthase protein, a tight correlation between enzymatic activity and immunoreactivity for cytochrome c, and identical functional properties shared by the tissue-derived synthetase and commercially obtained cytochrome c. The ability of cytochrome c to catalyze the formation of oleamide experimentally raises the possibility that cytochrome c may mediate oleamide biosynthesis in vivo.