title: A novel method for the measurement of in vitro fatty acid 2-hydroxylase activity by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
abstract: Fatty acid 2-hydroxylase (FA2H), encoded by the FA2H gene, is an enzyme responsible for the de novo synthesis of sphingolipids containing 2-hydroxy fatty acids. 2-Hydroxy sphingolipids are highly abundant in the brain, as major myelin galactolipids (galactosylceramide and sulfatide) contain a uniquely high proportion ( approximately 50%) of 2-hydroxy fatty acids. Other tissues, such as epidermis, epithelia of the digestive tract, and certain cancers, also contain 2-hydroxy sphingolipids. The physiological significance of the 2-hydroxylation on N-acyl chains of subsets of sphingolipids is poorly understood. To study the roles of FA2H and 2-hydroxy sphingolipids in various tissues, we developed a highly sensitive in vitro FA2H assay. FA2H-dependent fatty acid 2-hydroxylation requires an electron transfer system, which was reconstituted in vitro with an NADPH regeneration system and purified NADPH:cytochrome P-450 reductase. A substrate [3,3,5,5-D(4)]tetracosanoic acid was solubilized in alpha-cyclodextrin solution, and the 2-hydroxylated product was quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after conversion to a trimethylsilyl ether derivative. When the microsomes of FA2H-transfected COS7 cells were incubated with the electron transfer system and deuterated tetracosanoic acid, deuterated 2-hydroxy tetracosanoic acid was formed in a time- and protein-dependent manner. With this method, FA2H activities were reproducibly measured in murine brains and tissue culture cell lines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
authors.forename: Nathan L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Alderson
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Walla
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hama
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology; D019556:COS Cells; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases; C019081:fatty acid alpha-hydroxylase; C010210:lignoceric acid