CLONING AND TISSUE EXPRESSION OF 2 CDNAS ENCODING THE PEROXISOMAL 2-ENOYL-COA HYDRATASE 3-HYDROXYACYL-COA DEHYDROGENASE IN THE GUINEA-PIG LIVER/

The 2-enoyl-CoA hydratase/3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (HD) is the second enzyme of the peroxisomal beta-oxidation pathway. In human and rat, only one HD mRNA has been so far detected in the liver. This pape r reports for the first time in a mammal species, the guinea pig, the cloning and sequencing of two cDNAs encoding an HD. The 3,274 nucleoti de-cDNA is a strictly identical but longer copy of the 2,494 nucleotid e-form. A 2,178 bp-open reading frame encodes a protein of 726 amino a cids (M(r), 79.3 kDa) with the peroxisomal-targeting signal (tripeptid e SKL) at the carboxyterminus. Northern blot analysis of HD mRNA ident ified three mRNAs of respective sizes 3.5, 2.6 and 1.6 kb in the guine a pig liver and kidneys.