Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026

Quantification of Coenzyme A in Cells and Tissues
Published on: September 27, 2019
On acetyl-CoA as a gauge of cellular metabolic state
1Department of Biochemistry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9038, USA.
Abstract:
Many activities within a cell must be intimately coordinated with its metabolic state. Understanding these connections to metabolism is critical to deciphering the regulation of a variety of cellular processes. However, despite intensive research in these areas, the precise mechanisms by which a cell monitors its metabolic state remain controversial and poorly understood. Herein, we discuss the thesis that intracellular levels of the metabolite acetyl-CoA represent a critical gauge of cellular metabolic state, which is cleverly monitored by the cell through dynamic acetylation modifications to direct a variety of outputs connected to energy metabolism, cell growth, and survival.
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Fatty Acid Metabolism
Fatty acids are catabolized in a process called beta-oxidation, which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria and converts their fatty acid chains into two-carbon units of acetyl groups. The acetyl...
Fats as Energy Storage Molecules
Metabolic States of the Body: The Absorptive State
Regulation of Metabolism
The Citric Acid Cycle
Products of the Citric Acid Cycle

