Carboxylic ester hydrolases in mitochondria from rat skeletal muscle

A mitochondrial pellet, prepared from rat skeletal muscle, contained a number of carboxylic ester hydrolase isoenzymes. The esterases which split alpha-naphthyl acetate were organophosphate sensitive, whereas two out of three indoxyl acetate hydrolysing enzymes were resistant to both organophosphate and organomercury. The activity of the indoxyl acetate esterases was enhanced by the non-ionic detergents Tween-40 and Lubrol. After freezing, thawing and high speed centrifugation most of the alpha-naphthyl acetate splitting enzymes were found in the supernatant, indicating that the enzymes are loosely bound to mitochondrial membranes.