Identification of a novel malonyl-CoA IC50for CPT-I: Implications for predicting in vivo fatty acid oxidation rates

Published values regarding the sensitivity (IC(50)) of carnitine palmitoyl transferase I (CPT-I) to malonyl-CoA (M-CoA) inhibition in isolated mitochondria are inconsistent with predicted in vivo rates of fatty acid oxidation. Therefore, we have re-examined M-CoA inhibition kinetics under varying palmitoyl-CoA (P-CoA) concentrations in both isolated mitochondria and permeabilized muscle fibres (PMF). PMF have an 18-fold higher IC(50) (0.61 vs 0.034 μM) in the presence of 25 μM P-CoA and a 13-fold higher IC(50) (6.3 vs 0.49 μM) in the presence of 150 μM P-CoA compared to isolated mitochondria. M-CoA inhibition kinetics determined in PMF predicts that CPT-I activity is inhibited by 33% in resting muscle compared to >95% in isolated mitochondria. Additionally, the ability of M-CoA to inhibit CPT-I appears to be dependent on P-CoA concentration, as the relative inhibitory capacity of M-CoA is decreased with increasing P-CoA concentrations. Altogether, the use of PMF appears to provide a M-CoA IC(50) that better reflects the predicted in vivo rates of fatty acid oxidation. These findings also demonstrate the ratio of [P-CoA]/[M-CoA] is critical for regulating CPT-I activity and may partially rectify the in vivo disconnect between M-CoA content and CPT-I flux within the context of exercise and type II diabetes