CITRATE SYNTHASE

Uses

Citrate Synthase from porcine heart has been used:

• to inject newt egg for determining its importance in egg activation at fertilization
• in the preparation of reaction mix to determine pyruvate carboxylase enzyme activity
• to examine whether it can induce a [Ca²⁺]?increase and egg activation in unfertilized eggs

Definition

An enzyme that catalyzes the condensation of oxaloacetic acid and acetyl-CoA to yield citric acid and coenzyme A.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Citrate synthase catalyses the conversion of citrate to acetyl-CoA in the presence of coenzyme-A with the release of H2O and oxaloacetate. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 85 kDa and a pI of 6.1-6.6. It is inhibited by fluoroacetyl-CoA, palmitoyl-CoA, and citroyl-CoA. It is also inhibited when it is acetylated by acetic anhydride or iodinated by iodine.