Enzyme reactor for urinary acylcarnitines assay by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

L-Carnitine and Acetyl-L-carnitine Roles and Neuroprotection in Developing Brain

L-Carnitine functions to transport long chain fatty acyl-CoAs into the mitochondria for degradation by β-oxidation. Treatment with L-carnitine can ameliorate metabolic imbalances in many inborn errors of metabolism. In recent years there has been considerable interest in the therapeutic potential of L-carnitine and its acetylated derivative acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) for neuroprotection in a number of disorders including hypoxia-ischemia, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease and in conditions leading to central or peripheral nervous system injury. There is compelling evidence from preclinical studies that L-carnitine and ALCAR can improve energy status, decrease oxidative stress and prevent subsequent cell death in models of adult, neonatal and pediatric brain injury. ALCAR can provide an acetyl moiety that can be oxidized for energy, used as a precursor for acetylcholine, or incorporated into glutamate, glutamine and GABA, or into lipids for myelination and cell growth. Administration of ALCAR after brain injury in rat pups improved long-term functional outcomes, including memory. Additional studies are needed to better explore the potential of L-carnitine and ALCAR for protection of developing brain as there is an urgent need for therapies that can improve outcome after neonatal and pediatric brain injury.

Characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth on O-acylcarnitines and identification of a short-chain acylcarnitine hydrolase

To survive in various environments, from host tissue to soil, opportunistic bacterial pathogens must be metabolically flexible and able to use a variety of nutrient sources. We are interested in Pseudomonas aeruginosa's catabolism of quaternary amine compounds that are prevalent in association with eukaryotes. Carnitine and acylcarnitines are abundant in animal tissues, particularly skeletal muscle, and are used to shuttle fatty acids in and out of the mitochondria, where they undergo β-oxidation. We previously identified the genes required for carnitine catabolism as the first four genes in the carnitine operon (caiX-cdhCAB; PA5388 to PA5385). However, the last gene in the operon, PA5384, was not required for carnitine catabolism. We were interested in determining the function of PA5384. Bioinformatic analyses along with the genomic location of PA5384 led us to hypothesize a role for PA5384 in acylcarnitine catabolism. Here, we have characterized PA5384 as an l-enantiomer-specific short-chain acylcarnitine hydrolase that is required for growth and hydrolysis of acetyl- and butyrylcarnitine to carnitine and the respective short-chain fatty acid. The liberated carnitine and its downstream catabolic product, glycine betaine, are subsequently available to function as osmoprotectants in hyperosmotic environments and induce transcription of the virulence factor phospholipase C, plcH. Furthermore, we confirmed that acylcarnitines with 2- to 16-carbon chain lengths, except for octanoylcarnitine (8 carbons), can be utilized by P. aeruginosa as sole carbon and nitrogen sources. These findings expand our knowledge of short-chain acylcarnitine catabolism and also point to remaining questions related to acylcarnitine transport and hydrolysis of medium- and long-chain acylcarnitines.

Development of a rapid and detailed structural identification system with an on-line immobilized enzyme reactor integrated into LC-NMR

Immobilized enzyme reactors (IMERs) integrated into an LC-NMR system were developed for rapid and detailed structural identification of enzymatic reaction products. An on-column enzymatic reaction was achieved for immobilized cytochrome-c and dog microsomes. After the reaction, these products were analyzed by LC-NMR without any work-up processes. The immobilized cytochrome-c column integrated into LC-NMR was used to characterize the reaction product formed on N-demethylation by measurement of (1)H-NMR. In the case of reaction taking place on the microsome column, a glucuronidation product was identified by (1)H-NMR and (1)H-(1)H correlated spectroscopy. The chemical structures of the enzymatic reaction products could be elucidated by IMER-LC-NMR without the need for authentic samples or isolation processes.

Evaluation and application of liquid chromatographic columns coated with "intelligent" ligands. (III). Immobilized phospholipid column

Immobilized enzyme columns have been developed for use as high-performance liquid chromatographic enzyme reactors. Enzyme reactors were prepared by immobilizing trypsin or cytochrome-c on phospholipid columns. Dynamic coating was employed to prepare the reactors by recycling a buffer solution containing trypsin or cytochrome-c through a phospholipid-coated column, on which the enzymes were immobilized by hydrophobic binding. The immobilized trypsin column displayed hydrolytic activity which catalyzed the hydrolysis of L-amino acid esters to amino acid. The immobilized cytochrome-c column exhibited oxidation activity which catalyzed N-demethylation of N,N-dimethylaniline, codeine, and dihydrocodeine in the presence of hydrogen peroxide as an oxygenating agent. The enzyme reaction proceeded rapidly in the column; both product and substrate could be separated and detected simultaneously. The immobilized enzyme columns could be readily regenerated using the original phospholipid column by repeating the dynamic coating. These immobilized enzyme columns could be utilized as enzyme reactors in the high-performance liquid chromatographic mode. Complete hydrolysis of amino acid ester was observed with the trypsin column. Demethylation of codeine and of dihydrocodeine were observed with the cytochrome-c column.