Current Knowledge on the Function of α-Methyl Acyl-CoA Racemase in Human Diseases

Gyeyeong Kong; Hyunji Lee; Quangdon Tran; Chaeyeong Kim; Nayoung Gong; Jisoo Park; So Hee Kwon; Seon-Hwan Kim; Jongsun Park

doi:10.3389/fmolb.2020.00153

Current Knowledge on the Function of α-Methyl Acyl-CoA Racemase in Human Diseases

Front Mol Biosci. 2020 Jul 14:7:153. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2020.00153. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Gyeyeong Kong^{1

2}, Hyunji Lee^{1

2}, Quangdon Tran^{1

2}, Chaeyeong Kim^{1

2}, Nayoung Gong^{1

2}, Jisoo Park^{1

2

3}, So Hee Kwon⁴, Seon-Hwan Kim⁵, Jongsun Park^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea.
² Department of Medical Science, Metabolic Syndrome and Cell Signaling Laboratory, Institute for Cancer Research, College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea.
³ Department of Life Science, Hyehwa Liberal Arts College, Daejeon University, Daejeon, South Korea.
⁴ College of Pharmacy, Yonsei Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Yonsei University, Incheon, South Korea.
⁵ Department of Neurosurgery, Institute for Cancer Research, College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea.

Abstract

Branched chain fatty acids perform very important functions in human diet and drug metabolism. they cannot be metabolized in mitochondria and are instead processed and degraded in peroxisomes due to the presence of methyl groups on the carbon chains. Oxidative degradation pathways for lipids include α- and β-oxidation and several pathways. In all metabolic pathways, α-methyl acyl-CoA racemase (AMACR) plays an essential role by regulating the metabolism of lipids and drugs. AMACR regulates β-oxidation of branched chain lipids in peroxisomes and mitochondria and promotes chiral reversal of 2-methyl acids. AMACR defects cause sensory-motor neuronal and liver abnormalities in humans. These phenotypes are inherited and are caused by mutations in AMACR. In addition, AMACR has been found to be overexpressed in prostate cancer. In addition, the protein levels of AMACR have increased significantly in many types of cancer. Therefore, AMACR may be an important marker in tumors. In this review, a comprehensive overview of AMACR studies in human disease will be described.

Keywords: AMACR; branched-chain fatty acid; cancer development; lipid metabolism; β-oxidation.

Publication types

Review