Rat heart and liver cDNAs for precursor of L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenas
e have been cloned and sequenced. The results indicate that these different
rat organs express identical dehydrogonases. Furthermore, pig heart mRNA f
or L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase precursor was amplified by reverse tra
nscription-polymerase chain reaction, and all the cDNA clones were found to
encode a precursor of liver L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (X.-Y. He, S
.-Y. Yang, Biochim. Biophys, Acta 1392 (1998) 119-126) but not the well-doc
umented heart form of the dehydrogenase (K.G. Bitar et al., FEES Lett. 116(
1980) 196-198). Sequencing data and other evidence establish that the pig,
like the rat, has the same dehydrogenase in heart and liver. Since the size
and structure of pig heart L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase are identical
to the pie liver dehydrogenase, reports that relied on the published seque
nce of the pig heart dehydrogenase need to be reevaluated. For example, the
signature pattern of the L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase family is HXFXP
X3MXLXE. Furthermore, the published crystal structure of the pig heart dehy
drogenase that substantiated each subunit comprising 307 residues with a me
rcury-binding residue at position 204 (J.J. Birktoft et al., Proc. Natl. Ac
ad. Sci. U.S.A. 84 (1987) 8262-8266) must be re-examined in accordance with
this revelation. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.