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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 3742

Tony Liang, Gregory J. Raugi, and J.J. Blum; Effect of 4-Pentenoic Acid on Intermediate Metabolism of Tetrahymena. J.Protozool. 23(1):186-193, 1976

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The growth of Tetrahymena pyriformis strain HSM was strongly inhibited by 4-pentenoic acid. Supplementing the medium with acetate reversed the growth inhibition, but pyruvate was ineffective. Glycogen content was much lower in cells grown with 4-pentenoic acid than in controls; this effect was not reversed by acetate or by pyruvate. There was little effect of 4-pentenoic acid on the incorporation of label from [1-14C]acetate, [2-14C]glycerol, [1-14C]ribose, [U-14C]fructose, or [1-14C]glucose into CO2, but incorporation of label into glycogen was inhibited, the strongest inhibition being on acetate and the weakest (~ 20%) on ribose, fructose, and glucose. A 3-compartment model for quantitation of labeled acetyl CoA fluxes was shown to be applicable to Tetrahymena grown in the presence of 4-pentenoic acid, and experiments were performed to establish the flux of [1-14C]acetyl CoA into glycogen, lipids, CO2, glutamate, and alanine. It was evident from the results of these experiments that 4-pentenoic acid did not appreciably inhibit beta-oxidation or lipogenesis, but markedly decreased the glyconeogenic flux of labeled acetyl-CoA from the peroxismal and outer mitochondrial compartments. At least 2 mechanisms have been proposed of the action of 4-pentenoic acid: (a) reduction of the levels of acetyl CoA or free CoA and (b) direct inhibition of enzymes by 4-pentenoyl CoA or its metabolites. Although 4-pentenoic acid has little effect on acetyl-CoA metabolism in the inner mitochondrial compartment, the present data suggest that the flux through the outer mitochondrial compartment of acetyl-CoA derived from pyruvate is inhibited largely by the first, and that the glyconeogenic flux of acetyl-CoA is inhibited largely by the 2nd mechanism.