Effects of L-carnitine on erythrocyte acyl-CoA, free CoA, and glycerophospholipid acyltransferase in uremia.
We studied the effects of L-carnitine treatment in the acyl flux of erythrocyte membranes from uremic patients. We found a significantly lower relative proportion of long-chain acyl-CoA (LCCoA) to free CoA (FCoA) in patients than in control subjects. In addition, patients had reduced activities of both carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) and glycerophospholipid acyltransferase (LAT; CoA dependent), and increased ratios of long-chain acylcarnitine (LCAC) to free carnitine in their erythrocytes. These data support the hypothesis that acyl-trafficking is altered in erythrocytes in uremia. After treatment with L-carnitine, we observed a significant increase in CPT and LAT activities as well as in the LCCoA-FCoA ratio, and a significant decrease in the ratio of LCAC to free carnitine. These results support the conclusion that L-carnitine supplementation improves erythrocyte flux in uremic patients.
de los Reyes
B
B
Centro de Investigación, Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain.
Navarro
J A
JA
Pérez-García
R
R
Liras
A
A
Campos
Y
Y
Bornstein
B
B
Arenas
J
J
D000214:Acyl Coenzyme A / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002331:Carnitine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002334:Carnitine O-Palmitoyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D003065:Coenzyme A / Q000097:blood*; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000097:blood; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013393:Sucrase / Q000097:blood*; D014511:Uremia / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*
D000214:Acyl Coenzyme A; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV; D002334:Carnitine O-Palmitoyltransferase; D013393:Sucrase; D002331:Carnitine; D003065:Coenzyme A