FATTY-ACID ETHYL-ESTER SYNTHASE CATALYZES THE ESTERIFICATION OF ETHANOL TO COCAINE

Fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE), esterification products of ethanol and fatty acids, have been implicated as mediators of ethanol induced org an damage. It has been shown that FAEE synthase, the enzyme responsibl e for the formation of FAEE, is present selectively in the organs dama ged by ethanol abuse. Cocaethylene is a cocaine metabolite generated i n the presence of ethanol which has been established as enhancing coca ine toxicity. In the present study we show that purified FAEE synthase also catalyzes the formation of cocaethylene. A linear relationship ( r=0.998) was demonstrated between the amount of purified FAEE synthase (mu g) and cocaethylene synthesis (mmol/hr). We further showed a corr elation (r=0.804) between the two enzyme activities in selected tissue s. These findings provide evidence that purified FAEE synthase has coc aethylene synthetic ability and FAEE synthase may be responsible for a portion of cocaethylene synthesis in vivo. (C) 1995 Academic Press, I nc.