Lipid Biochemistry

Fetal Bovine Serum Concentration Affects Δ9 Desaturase Activity of Trypanosoma cruzi

“…FAD2 microsomal D 12 desaturases in higher plants use FAs esterified to a phosphoglycerolipid backbone, although the FAD2 enzyme does not display a preference for either sn-1 or sn-2 position [25]. Biochemical characterization of D 12 desaturases from insects indicates that they use acyl-CoA substrates [34]. In T. cruzi, desaturation of stearic acid increased up to 15 min and formation of linoleic acid from oleic acid increased up to 35 min, at a much slower rate, suggesting that the activities of the two enzymes are coupled.…”

A–Z of nutritional supplements: dietary supplements, sports nutrition foods and ergogenic aids for health and performance Part 14

“…Saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids can be synthesised de novo from precursors such as glucose 2. This occurs mainly in the liver and is promoted by insulin.…”

“…The principal roles of fatty acids are as energy sources and membrane constituents 1 2. Many types of fatty acid can fill these roles.…”

“…Oxidation of fatty acids generates more energy than the oxidation of glucose (∼9 cal/g vs ∼4 cal/g). Two key points control the rate of fatty acid oxidation: (1) intracellular fatty acid concentration which, in turn, is determined by their concentration in the blood, so that a rise in circulating NEFA concentration increases fatty acid oxidation in the tissues using them; (2) transport of NEFAs (as their coenzyme A esters) from the cytosol into the mitochondria via the carnitine acyl transferase system 2 3. NEFAs become important energy sources during starvation, endurance exercise and other situations where carbohydrate supply is limiting 3.…”

Guanidination of notexin alters its membrane-damaging activity in response to sphingomyelin and cholesterol

“…The outer-membrane leafl et of mammalian cells is composed mainly of phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin and cholesterol (Gurr et al 2002). Previous studies indicated that the presence of sphingomyelin inhibits the enzymatic activity of human-secreted PLA 2 against phosphatidylcholine (Koumanov et al 1998;Gesquiere et al 2002).…”