biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

, thioesterases are

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

s which belong to the esterase family. Esterases, in turn, are one type of the several hydrolases known. Thioesterases exhibit esterase activity (splitting of an

ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (either organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group () of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (R). These compounds contain a distin ...

into an

acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...

and an

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

, in the presence of water) specifically at a thiol group (). Thioesterases or thiolester hydrolases are identified as members of EC 3.1.2.

Family

The thioesterase activity is performed by members of the acyl-CoA thioesterase (ACOT) family. The regulatory role of ACOT in fatty acid metabolism depends on their substrate specificity, tissue expression and subcellular localization. For example, deactivation of

fatty acid In chemistry, in particular in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated and unsaturated compounds#Organic chemistry, saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an ...

s at the ER may traffic fatty acids away from pathways associated with the ER membrane, such as

glycerolipid Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins Vitamin A, A, Vitamin D, D, Vitamin E, E and Vitamin K, K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The fu ...

biosynthesis Biosynthesis, i.e., chemical synthesis occurring in biological contexts, is a term most often referring to multi-step, enzyme-Catalysis, catalyzed processes where chemical substances absorbed as nutrients (or previously converted through biosynthe ...

. Two structurally different ACOT types lead to a similar enzymatic activity

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...

, dividing the family into type I and type II ACOTs. Type I ACOTs (ACOT1–6) contain the α/β-hydrolase domain, which is also present in many lipases and esterases . Type II ACOTs (ACOT7–15) have a characteristic structural motif called the ‘ Hotdog fold’ domain .

Examples

Acetyl-CoA hydrolase, palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase, succinyl-CoA hydrolase, formyl-CoA hydrolase, acyl-CoA hydrolase are a few examples of this group of enzymes. Ubiquitin thiolesterase is a well-known example, whose structure has been analyzed. Humans genes which encode thioesterases include: ACOT1, ACOT2, ACOT4, ACOT6, ACOT7, ACOT8, ACOT9, ACOT11 (STARD14), ACOT12 (STARD15), OLAH, PPT1, PPT2, THEM2 (ACOT13), THEM4, THEM4P1, THEM5

References

External links

* * Peripheral membrane proteins {{enzyme-stub