FUNCTION OF CARNITINE IN THE FATTY ACID OXIDASE-DEFICIENT INSECT FLIGHT MUSCLE.
Abstract
The metabolic function of carnitine in the fatty acid oxidase-deficient flight muscle of the blowfly, Phormia regina, was investigated. It is concluded that, in contrast to mammalian systems, the primary function of carnitine in the flight muscle of the blowfly is not related to the utilization of fats. In this tissue, which contains an active carnitine acetyltransferase, carnitine affects the utilization of carbohydrates due to the formation of acetylcarnitine from acetyl coenzyme A (CoA), which is, in turn, derived from pyruvate. This mechanism is of the greatest physiological importance during the transition from a resting state to an actively contracting muscle. Carnitine had no effect on the metabolism of the flight muscle of the bee, which contains neither carnitine nor the enzyme carnitine acetyltransferase. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0647398
Entities
People
- Bertram Sacktor
- Charles C. Childress
- David R. Traynor