OCCURRENCE OF A LONG-CHAIN DELTA-3,DELTA-2-ENOYL-COA ISOMERASE IN RAT-LIVER

Isoproteins of Δ3,Δ2-enoyl-CoA isomerase (EC 5.3.3.8), an auxiliary enzyme in the β-oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids having double bonds at odd-numbered positions, were studied in livers of control and clofibrate-treated rats. When liver extracts were applied to a hydroxyapatite column at pH 7.0, the previously characterized peroxisomal trifunctional hydratase-dehydrogenase-isomerase enzyme and the mitochondrial isomerase, which shows a preference for short-chain substrates, were eluted almost in parallel. In addition to these activities, a separate isomerase was observed to elute at a lower potassium phosphate concentration in the gradient. Experiments with extracts of purified mitochondria and peroxisomes demonstrated the mitochondrial origin of this third activity. Studies on the kinetic properties of the third isomerase showed that it has a preference for C10-C12 substrates. An M(r) of 200000 was obtained for the native protein by gel-filtration chromatography. Antibodies to mitochondrial short-chain isomerase and peroxisomal trifunctional enzyme did not recognize this novel mitochondrial isoenzyme. The immunological non-cross-reactivity can be interpreted as suggesting that the different isomerases are not closely related at the level of the primary structure of the polypeptide chain. The present data demonstrate that, similar to many other enzymes of β-oxidation, Δ3,Δ2-enoyl-CoA isomerase has at least three isoenzymes in rat liver: mitochondrial short- and long-chain isomerases and an additional peroxisomal isoenzyme, which in this case is a part of a multifunctional protein.