Inter-tissue and inter-species characteristics of the mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase enzyme system

Properties of the carnitine palmitoyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.21) (CPT) enzyme system were compared in isolated mitochondria from a range of tissues in rodents, monkey, and man. Common features were as follows: (a) while membrane-bound, CPT I, but not CPT II, was inhibited reversibly by malonyl-coenzyme A (CoA) and irreversibly by CoA esters of certain oxirane carboxylic acids; (b) the detergent, Tween-20, readily solubilized CPT II in active form while leaving CPT I membrane associated and catalytically functional; (c) octyl glucoside and Triton X-100 released active CPT II but caused essentially complete loss of CPT I activity. Use of [3H]tetradecylglycidyl-CoA, a covalent ligand for CPT I, yielded estimates of the enzyme's monomeric molecular size: approximately 86 kDa in non-hepatic tissues and approximately 90-94 kDa in liver, depending upon species. A polyclonal antibody to purified rat liver CPT II recognized a single protein in each tissue; its apparent molecular mass was approximately 70 kDa in all rat tissues and approximately 68 kDa in all mouse tissues as well as monkey and human liver. On Northern blot analysis a rat liver CPT II cDNA probe detected a single approximately 2.5-kilobase mRNA in all rat and mouse tissues examined. The following points are emphasized. First, CPT I and II are different proteins. Second, within a species CPT II, but not CPT I, is probably conserved across tissue lines. Third, slight variations in size of both enzymes were found in different species, although, at least in the case of CPT II, significant amino acid identity exists among the various isoforms. Fourth, CPT I, unlike CPT II, requires membrane integrity for catalytic function. Finally, the strategic use of detergents provides a simple means of discriminating between the two enzyme activities.