title: Palmitoylcarnitine modulates palmitoylation of proteins: implication for differentiation of neural cells.
abstract: [3H]Palmitic acid accumulates in neuroblastoma NB-2a cells, being incorporated in lipids (90%) and proteins (10%) fractions. Addition of palmitoylcarnitine, known to modulate activity of protein kinase C and to promote differentiation of neurons, was observed to decrease incorporation of palmitic acid to sphingomyelin, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylcholine, with a parallel increase of palmitic acid bound to proteins through a thioester bond (palmitoylation). In the presence of palmitoylcarnitine, one of the palmitoylated proteins expressed at growing neural cones, GAP-43, was observed to co-localize with caveolin-1, what was correlated with the beginning of differentiation. A new function of palmitoylcarnitine in controlling palmitoylation of proteins and their targeting to cholesterol-rich domains has been proposed.
authors.affiliation: Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warszawa, Poland.
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Szczepankowska
authors.forename: Katarzyna A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Nałecz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051242:Caveolin 1; D022461:Caveolins / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D019922:GAP-43 Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D019308:Palmitic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D010172:Palmitoylcarnitine / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational / Q000502:physiology*; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D051242:Caveolin 1; D022461:Caveolins; D019922:GAP-43 Protein; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D010172:Palmitoylcarnitine; D019308:Palmitic Acid