ABSTRACT
The Acyl-CoA synthetase 1 (ACS1) gene encodes a key gatekeeper enzyme in long-chain fatty acid metabolism. The purified rat liver ACS1 enzyme was determined to have a specific activity of 26 to 29 units/mg protien at 35°C and most efficiently catalyzes the activation of saturated fatty acids with 10 to 18 carbon atoms and unsaturated fatty acids with 16 to 20 carbon atoms. The family of known mammalian acyl-CoA synthetases has grown rapidly. ACS2 is expressed in different tissues than ACS1; ACS2 mRNA is most abundantly expressed in brain. Nutritional regulation of ACS1 gene expression in rat liver was demonstrated by T. Suzuki et al. by refeeding animals fasted for 48 h with either a high-carbohydrate or high-fat diet. Treatment with the ACS1 inhibitor Triacsin C for the last 24 h completely abolished the increase in insulin secretion.
