Stearoylcarnitine

Fatty acid chain-elongation in perfused rat heart: synthesis of stearoylcarnitine from perfused palmitate

Rat hearts perfused for up to 60 min in the working mode with palmitate, but not with glucose, resulted in substantial formation of palmitoylcarnitine and stearoylcarnitine. To test whether lipolysis of endogenous lipids was responsible for the increased stearoylcarnitine content or whether some of the perfused palmitate underwent chain elongation, hearts were perfused with hexadecanoic-16,16,16-d(3) acid (M+3). The pentafluorophenacyl ester of deuterium labeled stearoylcarnitine had an M+3 (639.4 m/z) compared to the unlabeled M+0 (636.3 m/z) consistent with a direct chain elongation of the perfused palmitate. Furthermore, the near equal isotope enrichment of palmitoyl- (90.2+/-5.8%) and stearoylcarnitine (78.0+/-7.1%) suggest that both palmitoyl- and stearoyl-CoA have ready access to mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase and that most of the stearoylcarnitine is derived from the perfused palmitate.

Studies on the critical micellar concentration and phase transitions of stearoylcarnitine

The critical micellar concentration (CMC) of stearoylcarnitine was determined at different pH values at room temperature by fluorescence spectroscopy, monitoring the spectral changes of 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonate (ANS). The CMC was found to vary with pH, increasing from about 10 microM at pH 3.0 to ca. 25 microM at pH 7.0, but decreasing slightly with further increase in pH to approximately 19 microM at pH 10.0. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) shows that stearoylcarnitine dispersed in water at low concentration undergoes a broad thermotropic phase transition at 44.5 degrees C, with a transition enthalpy of 15.0 kcal/mol. The transition temperature (Tt) shifts to ca. 50.5 degrees C in the presence of 1 mM EDTA or when the concentration is increased significantly. The turbidity of aqueous dispersions of stearoylcarnitine was found to be considerably high at low temperatures, which decreases quite abruptly over a short temperature range, indicating that a transition occurs from a phase of large aggregates to one of much smaller aggregates, most likely micelles. The phase transition temperature was determined as 29.1 degrees C at pH 3.0, which increased with increasing pH up to a value of 55.3 degrees C at pH 8.6 and remains nearly constant thereafter up to pH 11.2. The pH dependence of CMC and Tt suggest that the pKa of the carboxyl group of long chain acylcarnitines shifts to higher temperatures upon aggregation (micelles or bilayer membranes).

A Metabolomic Approach in Search of Neurobiomarkers of Perinatal Asphyxia: A Review of the Current Literature

Perinatal asphyxia and the possible sequelae of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), are associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. The use of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) commencing within the first 6 h of life-currently the only treatment validated for the management of HIE-has been proven to reduce the mortality rate and disability seen at follow up at 18 months. Although there have been attempts to identify neurobiomarkers assessing the severity levels in HIE; none have been validated in clinical use to date, and the lack thereof limits the optimal treatment for these vulnerable infants. Metabolomics is a promising field of the "omics technologies" that may: identify neurobiomarkers, help improve diagnosis, identify patients prone to developing HIE, and potentially improve targeted neuroprotection interventions. This review focuses on the current evidence of metabolomics, a novel tool which may prove to be a useful in the diagnosis, management and treatment options for this multifactorial complex disease. Some of the most promising metabolites analyzed are the group of acylcarnitines: Hydroxybutyrylcarnitine (Malonylcarnitine) [C3-DC (C4-OH)], Tetradecanoylcarnitine [C14], L-Palmitoylcarnitine [C16], Hexadecenoylcarnitine [C16:1], Stearoylcarnitine [C18], and Oleoylcarnitine [C18:1]. A metabolomic "fingerprint" or "index," made up of 4 metabolites (succinate × glycerol/(β-hydroxybutyrate × O-phosphocholine)), seems promising in identifying neonates at risk of developing severe HIE.

Evaluation and application of liquid chromatographic columns coated with 'intelligent' ligands: (I) acylcarnitine column

Unique stationary phases of octadecylsilica (ODS) coated with acylcarnitines have been developed for liquid chromatographic columns. The ODS column coated with acylcarnitine was readily prepared by recycling the solution containing acylcarnitine through an ODS column in a closed loop. Acylcarnitine was adsorbed on the ODS surfaces by hydrophobic interaction between the acyl group of acylcarnitine and the octadecyl group of the ODS phases. The ODS column coated with stearoylcarnitine (CN-18 column) was the most stable among the four columns coated with acylcarnitines of various acyl chain lengths (decanoylcarnitine, lauroylcarnitine, myristoylcarnitine, and stearoylcarnitine) under the condition of delivery of the mobile phase, indicating that adsorption of acylcarnitine on the ODS surfaces depended on the length of acyl chains. The CN-18 column was usable for delivering the mobile phase contained less than 20% (v/v) acetonitrile, retaining almost the same separation efficiency as the intact ODS column. The retention behavior of ionic solutes on the CN-18 column could be explained by both ionic and electrostatic interactions between the solutes and the stationary phase. The CN-18 column enabled efficient separation of inorganic anions, nicotinic acids, amino acids, and nucleotides. The chiral ODS column coated with enantiomer of stearoylcarnitine, L-stearoylcarnitine (L-CN-18 column) could achieve direct enantiomeric separation of DL-tryptophan, alpha-methyl-DL-tryptophan and DL-3-indolelactic acid using 100% water as the mobile phase. The L-CN-18 column could also separate enantiomers of amino acids and alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids by ligand-exchange chromatographic mode using a mobile phase containing copper(II) ion. The chiral recognition is discussed for enantiomeric separation on the L-CN-18 column.

First-Trimester Serum Acylcarnitine Levels to Predict Preeclampsia: A Metabolomics Approach

Objective: To expand the search for preeclampsia (PE) metabolomics biomarkers through the analysis of acylcarnitines in first-trimester maternal serum.
Methods: This was a nested case-control study using serum from pregnant women, drawn between 8 and 14 weeks of gestational age. Metabolites were measured using an UPLC-MS/MS based method. Concentrations were compared between controls (n = 500) and early-onset- (EO-) PE (n = 68) or late-onset- (LO-) PE (n = 99) women. Metabolites with a false discovery rate <10% for both EO-PE and LO-PE were selected and added to prediction models based on maternal characteristics (MC), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and previously established biomarkers (PAPPA, PLGF, and taurine).
Results: Twelve metabolites were significantly different between EO-PE women and controls, with effect levels between -18% and 29%. For LO-PE, 11 metabolites were significantly different with effect sizes between -8% and 24%. Nine metabolites were significantly different for both comparisons. The best prediction model for EO-PE consisted of MC, MAP, PAPPA, PLGF, taurine, and stearoylcarnitine (AUC = 0.784). The best prediction model for LO-PE consisted of MC, MAP, PAPPA, PLGF, and stearoylcarnitine (AUC = 0.700).
Conclusion: This study identified stearoylcarnitine as a novel metabolomics biomarker for EO-PE and LO-PE. Nevertheless, metabolomics-based assays for predicting PE are not yet suitable for clinical implementation.