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coenzyme A

 
Dictionary: coenzyme A

n. (Abbr. CoA)
A coenzyme present in all living cells that functions as an acyl group carrier and is necessary for fatty acid synthesis and oxidation, pyruvate oxidation, and other acetylation reactions.


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Medical Dictionary: coenzyme A
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n. (Abbr. CoA)

A coenzyme present in all living cells that functions as an acyl group carrier and is necessary for fatty acid synthesis and oxidation, pyruvate oxidation, and other acetylation.

WordNet: coenzyme A
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a coenzyme present in all living cells; essential to metabolism of carbohydrates and fats and some amino acids


Wikipedia: Coenzyme A
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Coenzyme A
Coenzym A.svg
Coenzyme-A-3D-balls.png
Identifiers
CAS number 85-61-0 Yes check.svgY
PubChem 317
MeSH Coenzyme+A
SMILES
Properties
Molecular formula C21H36N7O16P3S
Molar mass 767.535
 Yes check.svgY (what is this?)  (verify)
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox references

Coenzyme A (CoA, CoASH, or HSCoA) is a coenzyme, notable for its role in the synthesis and oxidation of fatty acids, and the oxidation of pyruvate in the citric acid cycle. All sequenced genomes encode enzymes that use coenzyme A as a substrate and around 4% of cellular enzymes use it (or a thioester, such as acetyl-CoA) as a substrate. It is adapted from cysteamine, pantothenate, and adenosine triphosphate.

Contents

Biosynthesis

Coenzyme A is synthesized in a five-step process from pantothenate:

  1. Pantothenate (Vitamin B5) is phosphorylated to 4'-phosphopantothenate by the enzyme pantothenate kinase (PanK; CoaA; CoaX)
  2. A cysteine is added to 4'-phosphopantothenate by the enzyme phosphopantothenoylcysteine synthetase (PPC-DC; CoaB) to form 4'-phospho-N-pantothenoylcysteine (PPC)
  3. PPC is decarboxylated to 4'-phosphopantetheine by phosphopantothenoylcysteine decarboxylase (CoaC)
  4. 4'-phosphopantetheine is adenylylated to form dephospho-CoA by the enzyme phosphopantetheine adenylyl transferase (CoaD)
  5. Finally, dephospho-CoA is phosphorylated using ATP to coenzyme A by the enzyme dephosphocoenzyme A kinase (CoaE).

Function

Since coenzyme A is chemically a thiol, it can react with carboxylic acids to form thioesters, thus functioning as an acyl group carrier. It assists in transferring fatty acids from the cytoplasm to mitochondria. A molecule of coenzyme A carrying an acetyl group is also referred to as acetyl-CoA. When it is not attached to an acyl group it is usually referred to as 'CoASH' or 'HSCoA'.

List of coenzyme A activated acyl groups

Additional images

References


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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Medical Dictionary. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Coenzyme A" Read more