Fatty alcohols: chemistry and metabolism

An examination of pentafluorobenzoyl derivatization strategies for the analysis of fatty alcohols using gas chromatography/electron capture negative ion chemical ionization-mass spectrometry

Gas chromatography/electron capture negative ion chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (GC/ECNICI-MS) combined with pentafluorobenzoyl derivatization (PFBoyl) is frequently used for the sensitive detection of fatty alcohols (FOH). However, this derivatization technique suffers from a lack of established reaction protocols, time-consuming reactions, and the presence of reagent artifacts or unwanted derivatization by-products which can hinder analyte detection. Here, strategies are presented to reduce the problems associated with PFBoyl-derivatization, including (1) the optimization of reaction conditions (derivatization time and temperature) for a variety of PFBoyl-derivatized FOH, (2) an investigation of microwave-accelerated derivatization (MAD) as a rapid alternative heating mechanism for the PFBoyl-derivatization of FOH, and (3) an analysis of an alternative strategy employing a solvent extraction procedure post-derivatization to reduce the detrimental effects commonly associated with PFBoyl derivatization reagents. The optimal reaction conditions for the PFBoyl-derivatization of FOH were determined to be 60°C for 45 min. The investigation in MAD demonstrated the potential of obtaining comparable PFBoyl-derivatizations to those obtained using traditional heating methods, albeit in a reaction time of 3 min. An examination of several solvents for post-derivatization extraction revealed improved relative response factors in comparison to those obtained without solvent extraction. The best solvents for the PFBoyl-FOH extraction, dichloromethane and tert-butyl methyl ether, were also compared to the no solvent extraction samples with standard response curves and PFBoyl-derivatized FOH in Bligh-Dyer extracted rat plasma.

Localization of enzymes involved in glycero-ether bond formation in rat liver

Studies on the localization of alkyldihydroxyacetone-phosphate synthase in rat liver are described. Less than 5% of the total activity was found in the cytosolic fraction, suggesting that the enzyme is membrane-bound. The ratio of the enzymatic (specific) activity over that of dihydroxyacetone-phosphate acyltransferase, a peroxisomal enzyme, is 10-fold higher in the microsomal fraction, when compared to the peroxisomal fraction. Studying the distribution of the enzyme in a linear density gradient, two activity peaks were found in the peroxisomal and the microsomal fraction indicating a bimodal localization of alkyldihydroxyacetone-phosphate synthase. Rabert et al. (Rabert, U., Völkl, A. and Debuch, H. (1986) Biol. Chem. Hoppe-Seyler 367, 215-222) have presented evidence that the activity in the microsomal fraction was mainly caused by a different enzyme that preferentially converted acyldihydroxyacetone to alkyldihydroxyacetone. We also found a radioactive product, different from alkyldihydroxyacetone-phosphate, upon incubation of microsomal protein in the presence of [14C]hexadecanol. However, it was shown that this product was formed independently of the presence of acyldihydroxyacetone. The product yielded [14C]hexadecanol upon alkaline hydrolysis, clearly showing that it did not contain an ether-bond. Upon incubation of microsomal protein with [14C]palmitic acid and hexadecanol the product was also observed and its chromatographic behaviour resembled that of a synthetically prepared palmitoyl ester of hexadecanol. From these data it was concluded that the product formed is most likely a wax and that the enzyme responsible for this conversion is clearly different from the alkyldihydroxyacetone-phosphate synthase. The implication is that acyldihydroxyacetone-phosphate cannot be replaced by acyldihydroxyacetone in the process of glycero-ether bond formation.

Enzymatic reduction of fatty acids and acyl-CoAs to long chain aldehydes and alcohols

The properties of enzymatic systems involved in the synthesis of long chain aldehydes and alcohols have been reviewed. Fatty acid and acyl-CoA reductases are widely distributed and generate fatty alcohols for ether lipid and wax ester synthesis as well as fatty aldehydes for bacterial bioluminescence. Fatty alcohol is generally the major product of fatty acid reduction in crude or membrane systems, although reductases which release fatty aldehydes as products have also been purified. The reduction of fatty acid proceeds through the ATP-dependent formation of acyl intermediates such as acyl-CoA and acyl protein, followed by reduction to aldehyde and alcohol with NAD(P)H. In most cases, both the rate of fatty acid conversion and acyl chain specificity of the reaction are determined at the level of reduction of the intermediate. The reduction of fatty acids represents the major pathway for the control of the synthesis of fatty aldehydes and alcohols. Several other enzymatic reactions involved in lipid degradation also release fatty aldehydes but do not appear to play an important role in long chain alcohol synthesis.

Metabolism of long-chain alcohols in cell suspension cultures of soya and rape

Heterotrophic cell suspension cultures of soya (Glycine max) and photomixotrophic cell suspension cultures of rape (Brassica napus) were incubated with cis-9-[1-(14)C]octadecenol for 3-48 h. It was found that under aerobic conditions large proportions of the alcohol are oxidized to oleic acid, which is incorporated predominantly into phospholipids, whereas up to 30% of the substrate is esterified to wax esters. This is true for both the heterotrophic and the photomixotrophic cell suspension cultures, but the metabolic rates are much higher in the latter. Under anaerobic conditions only small proportions of the radioactively labeled alcohol are oxidized to oleic acid, whereas a major portion of the alcohol is esterified to wax esters both in heterotrophic and photomixotrophic cultures. Incubations of homogenates of photomixotrophic rape cells with labeled cis-9-octadecenol showed that pH 6 is optimum for the formation of wax esters. This monounsaturated alcohol is preferred as a substrate over saturated longchain alcohols, whereas short-chain alcohols, cholesterol, and glycerol are not acylated. Incubations of an enzyme concentrate from a homogenate of rape cells with unlabeled cis-9-octadecenol and [1-(14)C]oleic acid, or [1-(14)C]stearoyl-CoA, or di[1-(14)C]palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine showed that acylation of the longchain alcohol proceeds predominantly through acyl-CoA. Direct esterification of the alcohol with fatty acid as well as acyl transfer from diacylglycerophosphocholine could be demonstrated to occur to a much smaller extent.

Formation of ether lipids and wax esters in mammalian cells. Specificity of enzymes with regard to carbon chains of substrates

The incorporation of radioactivity from individual constituents of an equimolar mixture of saturated straight-chain alcohols (14:0, 16:0, 18:0, 20:0) and of nearly uniform mixtures of isomeric cis- or trans-octadecenols (delta 8-delta 16) into alkyl, alk-1-enyl and acyl moieties of diradylglycerophosphocholines and diradylglycerophosphoethanolamines and into alkyl and acyl moieties of wax esters was studied in rat brain as well as in L 1210 and S 180 ascites cells. The pattern of incorporation of radioactivity from the substrates into alkyl and alk-1-enyl moieties of ether phospholipids and into alkyl moieties of wax esters reveals the following: (1) The enzymes catalyzing the biosynthesis of alkylacylglycerols, the common intermediates of cholinephospholipids and ethanolaminephospholipids, have no substrate specificity with regard to position of the double bond of either cis- or trans-octadecenols or of intermediate ether lipids derived therefrom. (2) CDPcholine:diradylglycerol cholinephosphotransferases exhibit a strong preference for alkylacylglycerols with cis-8, cis-9 and cis-10-octadecenyl moieties, but no preference for the double bond position in the trans-octadecenylacylglycerols. (3) CDPethanolamine:diredylglycerol ethanolaminephosphotransferases have no substrate specificity with regard to position of the double bond in cis- or trans-octadecenyl moieties of alkylacylglycerols. (4) THe enzyme systems catalyzing the biosynthesis of alkylacylglycerophosphocholines and alkylacylglycerophosphoethanolamines exhibit substrate specificity with regard to chain-length of saturated alcohols and intermediate ether lipids derived therefrom. (5) Alkylacylglycerophosphoethanolamine desaturase and (6) wax ester synthase are highly specific for alkylacylglycerophosphoethanolamines and long-chain alcohols, respectively, with regard to chain-length of saturated alkyl moieties, but not with regard to position of double bonds of cis- or trans-octadecenyl moieties.