title: Ablation of the liver fatty acid binding protein gene decreases fatty acyl CoA binding capacity and alters fatty acyl CoA pool distribution in mouse liver.
abstract: Although liver fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP) is known to bind not only long chain fatty acid (LCFA) but also long chain fatty acyl CoA (LCFA-CoA), the physiological significance of LCFA-CoA binding has been questioned and remains to be resolved. To address this issue, the effect of L-FABP gene ablation on liver cytosolic LCFA-CoA binding, LCFA-CoA pool size, LCFA-CoA esterification, and potential compensation by other intracellular LCFA-CoA binding proteins was examined. L-FABP gene ablation resulted not only in loss of L-FABP but also in concomitant upregulation of two other intracellular LCFA-CoA binding proteins, acyl CoA binding protein (ACBP) and sterol carrier protein-2 (SCP-2), by 45 and 80%, respectively. Nevertheless, the soluble fraction from livers of L-FABP (-/-) mice bound 95% less radioactive oleoyl-CoA than wild-type L-FABP (+/+) mice. The intracellular LCFA-CoA binding protein fraction (Fraction III) from wild-type L-FABP (+/+) mice, isolated by gel permeation chromatography of liver soluble proteins, exhibited one high-affinity binding and several low-affinity binding sites for cis-parinaroyl-CoA, a naturally occurring fluorescent LCFA-CoA. In contrast, high-affinity LCFA-CoA binding was absent from Fraction III of L-FABP (-/-) mice. While L-FABP gene ablation did not alter liver LCFA-CoA pool size, LCFA-CoA acyl chains of L-FABP (-/-) mouse livers were enriched 2.1-fold in C16:1 and decreased 1.9-fold in C20:0 fatty acids. Finally, L-FABP gene ablation selectively increased the amount of LCFAs esterified into liver phospholipid > cholesteryl ester, while concomitantly decreasing the amount of fatty acids esterified into triglycerides by 40%. In summary, these data with L-FABP (-/-) mice demonstrated for the first time that L-FABP is a physiologically significant contributor to determining liver cytosolic LCFA-CoA binding capacity, LCFA-CoA acyl chain distribution, and esterified fatty acid distribution.
mesh_terms: D000214:Acyl Coenzyme A / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000071438:Fatty Acid-Binding Protein 7; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D017353:Gene Deletion; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011485:Protein Binding; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
chemical_list: D000214:Acyl Coenzyme A; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D002352:Carrier Proteins; C493320:Fabp1 protein, mouse; C082667:Fabp5 protein, mouse; C086936:Fabp7 protein, mouse; D000071438:Fatty Acid-Binding Protein 7; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins