Authors: Attilio Pingitore Erika Cione Valentina Senatore Giuseppe Genchi
Publish Date: 2009/06/12
Volume: 41, Issue: 3, Pages: 215-
Abstract
This study was undertaken to better understand the physiological role of the retinoylation process in steroidogenic tissues In adrenal gland mitochondria the retinoylation extent was found equal to that of testes mitochondria but without ATP in the incubation buffer We pointed out that the endogenous mitochondrial ATP in adrenal glands is much higher than in testes about 13 x 10−2 M and 52 x 10−8 M respectively In addition less CoASH is required for the maximal acylation activity of the retinoyl moiety to proteins compared to testes The fatty acid analysis revealed a different composition of mitochondrial membranes of these two tissues Among the different values of fatty acids it is important to note that adrenal glands contain a much higher amount of C180 and a much lower amount of C225 ω6 and C226 ω3 than testes in the mitochondrial membranes In addition there were also differences in arachidonic acid ARA C204 ω6 content between adrenal glands and testes mitochondria These different values in the fatty acids composition should explain the different extent of the retinoylation process between the two organs
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