Expression of fatty acid-CoA ligase 4 during development and in brain

Fatty acid utilization is initiated by fatty acid-CoA ligase, which convert s free fatty acids into fatty acyl-CoA esters, We have cloned previously th e human long-chain fatty acid-Coti Ligase 4 (FACL4), which is a central enz yme in controlling the free arachidonic acid level in cells and thereby reg ulating eicosanoid production. We report here the expression of this gene i n tissues, particularly in different parts of the brain, We found that FACL 4 encoded a 75 kDa enzyme and that there,vas a modified translation product expressed in the brain, FACL4 was expressed in early stages of development with a significant amount of FACL4 mRNA detected in an E7 mouse embryo. In addition, FACL4 was highly expressed in both adult and newborn mouse brain especially in the granule cells of the dentate gyrus and the pyramidal cel l layer of CA1 in hippocampus, and the granular cell laver and Purkinje cel ls of the cerebellum. (C) 2000 Federation of European Biochemical Societies .