Assessing Sorority Women's Perceptions of Barriers to Reporting Sexual Assaults That Occur Within College Campus Greek Organizations.

Involvement in college campus Greek organizations is associated with an elevated risk of experiencing sexual assault victimization. Experiencing sexual assault victimizaiton is associated with myriad of consequences that could be mitigated by reporting the experience to friends, campus authorities, or police, yet researchers' understanding of reasons why women participating in Greek organizations do not report sexual assaults committed by a fraternity member is understudied. Thus, the goal of this study was to assess perceived barriers to reporting a sexual assault committed by a member of a fraternity. Women associated with Greek organizations from two large universities in the south and southwestern region of the US (n = 235) completed an online survey about sexual assault. Participants were asked to describe why they thought women assaulted by a fraternity member would not report their experience. An inductive and deductive coding process suggested women perceived barriers to reporting across intrapersonal (e.g. feeling afraid/shame), interpersonal (e.g. sorority sisters would ostracize them), organizational (e.g. reporting would jeopardize Greek life), community (e.g. reporting on campus/police is challenging) and societal levels (e.g. victim blame culture). Findings suggest larger socio-cultural factors may influence whether women would report a sexual assault committed by a fraternity member. Collaboration between Greek organizations, campus Fraternity and Sorority advisors, and sexual assault prevention advocates could help to provide a supportive environment for women when sexual assaults occur.

Heterogeneity of disease-causing variants in the Swedish galactosemia population: Identification of 16 novel GALT variants.

The aim was to determine disease-causing variants in the GALT gene which codes for the enzyme galactose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase. Loss of activity of this enzyme causes classical galactosemia-a life threatening, treatable disorder, included in the Swedish newborn screening program since 1967. A total of 66 patients with the disease are known in Sweden and 56 index patients were investigated. An additional two patients with Duarte galactosemia were included. The disease-causing variants were identified in all patients. As reported from other countries only a few variants frequently recur in severe disease. The two variants p.(Gln188Arg) (c.563A>G) and p.(Met142Lys) (c.425T>A) are present in several index patients whereas the remaining are found in one to three patients each. The most common variant, p.(Gln188Arg), has an allele frequency of 51% in the cohort. A total of 16 novel variants were found among the 33 different variants in the cohort. Two of these are synonymous variants affecting splicing, demonstrating the importance of the evaluation of synonymous variants at the cDNA level. Concise sentence: Galactosemia is a rare disease in Sweden and the disease-causing variants are heterogenous including two synonymous variants.

Show or Tell? Does Verbal and/or Nonverbal Sexual Communication Matter for Sexual Satisfaction?

Communication is linked to sexual satisfaction. This includes verbal and nonverbal communication. Much of the extant research focuses on verbal communication within a relationship as a predictor of sexual satisfaction, yet some people feel more comfortable communicating nonverbally, perhaps especially during sex. Regardless of the communication style (verbal or nonverbal), satisfaction with one's communication style with a partner also seems to be linked to sexual satisfaction. However, the relationship between (a) communication style (verbal and nonverbal) and (b) satisfaction with communication style regarding communication during sex with sexual satisfaction is not well established. Given this gap in the research, we explored (a) how one's own and one's partner's use of verbal and nonverbal communication during sex is associated with sexual satisfaction, and (b) how satisfaction with sexual communication is associated with sexual satisfaction among a convenience sample (N = 398; ages 18-55+). Sexual communication satisfaction mediated the association between self and partner communication during sex and sexual satisfaction. This study has implications for education and counseling-specifically we argue that couples may benefit more from finding consistency and satisfaction with their communication style than from focusing on trying to ascribe to a particular style.

Acyl-CoA thioesterase 9 (ACOT9) in mouse may provide a novel link between fatty acid and amino acid metabolism in mitochondria.

Acyl-CoA thioesterase (ACOT) activities are found in prokaryotes and in several compartments of eukaryotes where they hydrolyze a wide range of acyl-CoA substrates and thereby regulate intracellular acyl-CoA/CoA/fatty acid levels. ACOT9 is a mitochondrial ACOT with homologous genes found from bacteria to humans and in this study we have carried out an in-depth kinetic characterization of ACOT9 to determine its possible physiological function. ACOT9 showed unusual kinetic properties with activity peaks for short-, medium-, and saturated long-chain acyl-CoAs with highest V max with propionyl-CoA and (iso) butyryl-CoA while K cat/K m was highest with saturated long-chain acyl-CoAs. Further characterization of the short-chain acyl-CoA activity revealed that ACOT9 also hydrolyzes a number of short-chain acyl-CoAs and short-chain methyl-branched CoA esters that suggest a role for ACOT9 in regulation also of amino acid metabolism. In spite of markedly different K ms, ACOT9 can hydrolyze both short- and long-chain acyl-CoAs simultaneously, indicating that ACOT9 may provide a novel regulatory link between fatty acid and amino acid metabolism in mitochondria. Based on similar acyl-CoA chain-length specificities of recombinant ACOT9 and ACOT activity in mouse brown adipose tissue and kidney mitochondria, we conclude that ACOT9 is the major mitochondrial ACOT hydrolyzing saturated C2-C20-CoA in these tissues. Finally, ACOT9 activity is strongly regulated by NADH and CoA, suggesting that mitochondrial metabolic state regulates the function of ACOT9.

Reversible lysine acetylation regulates activity of human glycine N-acyltransferase-like 2 (hGLYATL2): implications for production of glycine-conjugated signaling molecules.

Lysine acetylation is a major post-translational modification of proteins and regulates many physiological processes such as metabolism, cell migration, aging, and inflammation. Proteomic studies have identified numerous lysine-acetylated proteins in human and mouse models (Kim, S. C., Sprung, R., Chen, Y., Xu, Y., Ball, H., Pei, J., Cheng, T., Kho, Y., Xiao, H., Xiao, L., Grishin, N. V., White, M., Yang, X. J., and Zhao, Y. (2006) Mol. Cell 23, 607-618). One family of proteins identified in this study was the murine glycine N-acyltransferase (GLYAT) enzymes, which are acetylated on lysine 19. Lysine 19 is a conserved residue in human glycine N-acyltransferase-like 2 (hGLYATL2) and in several other species, showing that this residue may be important for enzyme function. Mutation of lysine 19 in recombinant hGLYATL2 to glutamine (K19Q) and arginine (K19R) resulted in a 50-80% lower production of N-oleoyl glycine and N-arachidonoylglycine, indicating that lysine 19 is important for enzyme function. LC/MS/MS confirmed that Lys-19 is not acetylated in wild-type hGLYATL2, indicating that Lys-19 requires to be deacetylated for full activity. The hGLYATL2 enzyme conjugates medium- and long-chain saturated and unsaturated acyl-CoA esters to glycine, resulting in the production of N-oleoyl glycine and also N-arachidonoyl glycine. N-Oleoyl glycine and N-arachidonoyl glycine are structurally and functionally related to endocannabinoids and have been identified as signaling molecules that regulate functions like the perception of pain and body temperature and also have anti-inflammatory properties. In conclusion, acetylation of lysine(s) in hGLYATL2 regulates the enzyme activity, thus linking post-translational modification of proteins with the production of biological signaling molecules, the N-acyl glycines.

The emerging role of acyl-CoA thioesterases and acyltransferases in regulating peroxisomal lipid metabolism.

The importance of peroxisomes in lipid metabolism is now well established and peroxisomes contain approximately 60 enzymes involved in these lipid metabolic pathways. Several acyl-CoA thioesterase enzymes (ACOTs) have been identified in peroxisomes that catalyze the hydrolysis of acyl-CoAs (short-, medium-, long- and very long-chain), bile acid-CoAs, and methyl branched-CoAs, to the free fatty acid and coenzyme A. A number of acyltransferase enzymes, which are structurally and functionally related to ACOTs, have also been identified in peroxisomes, which conjugate (or amidate) bile acid-CoAs and acyl-CoAs to amino acids, resulting in the production of amidated bile acids and fatty acids. The function of ACOTs is to act as auxiliary enzymes in the α- and ß-oxidation of various lipids in peroxisomes. Human peroxisomes contain at least two ACOTs (ACOT4 and ACOT8) whereas mouse peroxisomes contain six ACOTs (ACOT3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 12). Similarly, human peroxisomes contain one bile acid-CoA:amino acid N-acyltransferase (BAAT), whereas mouse peroxisomes contain three acyltransferases (BAAT and acyl-CoA:amino acid N-acyltransferases 1 and 2: ACNAT1 and ACNAT2). This review will focus on the human and mouse peroxisomal ACOT and acyltransferase enzymes identified to date and discuss their cellular localizations, emerging structural information and functions as auxiliary enzymes in peroxisomal metabolic pathways.

N-Acyl taurines trigger insulin secretion by increasing calcium flux in pancreatic ß-cells.

Pancreatic ß-cells secrete insulin in response to various stimuli to control blood glucose levels. This insulin release is the result of a complex interplay between signaling, membrane potential and intracellular calcium levels. Various nutritional and hormonal factors are involved in regulating this process. N-Acyl taurines are a group of fatty acids which are amidated (or conjugated) to taurine and little is known about their physiological functions. In this study, treatment of pancreatic ß-cell lines (HIT-T15) and rat islet cell lines (INS-1) with N-acyl taurines (N-arachidonoyl taurine and N-oleoyl taurine), induced a high frequency of calcium oscillations in these cells. Treatment with N-arachidonoyl taurine and N-oleoyl taurine also resulted in a significant increase in insulin secretion from pancreatic ß-cell lines as determined by insulin release assay and immunofluorescence (p<0.05). Our data also show that the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) channel is involved in insulin secretion in response to N-arachidonoyl taurine and N-oleoyl taurine treatment. However our data also suggest that receptors other than TRPV1 are involved in the insulin secretion response to treatment with N-oleoyl taurine.

"Without Compassion We Don't Have a Social Work Field": A Thematic Analysis Exploring Social Workers' Experiences with Compassion.

PURPOSE: Evidence establishing the importance of compassion in the context of social work practice is emerging. Compassion, stemming from the Latin words com and pati, means to suffer with. Given the proximity social workers have to vast experiences of suffering, compassion may play a central role in providing meaningful care to individuals, communities, and systems. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore social workers' definitions of and experiences with compassion. METHOD: Participants included 12 social workers working across levels of practice in two Midwestern states in the United States. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: Thematic analysis demonstrated three themes present in the data. Consistent with previous conceptual scholarship, the findings illustrated that compassion is a central component of social work practice. Additionally, results from the study demonstrated that social workers find compassion to be an imperative component of ethical practice and suggested that both barriers to and facilitators of compassion are present across levels of social work practice. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This study adds to the growing body of social work scholarship exploring compassion and highlights implications for the social work discipline across levels of practice to more overtly center compassion in education, practice, and policy. Further research is needed to better understand multilevel barriers to compassion and develop strategies for overcoming them. Moreover, additional research is needed to holistically understand how to leverage and build upon the facilitators of compassion identified by participants in order to foster compassionate social workers, social work organizations, and systems.

Medication use in the last year of life: a cross-sectional hospice study.

OBJECTIVES: The issue of polypharmacy and medication use in people with life limiting illness raises important questions from a clinical and ethical viewpoint. The objectives of our study were to (1) explore medication use among people with life limiting illness receiving hospice care; (2) apply consensus criteria to assess medication appropriateness; and (3) determine the overall pill burden in this patient population. METHODS: Six hospices in the North East of England were included. All deceased adult patients who received hospice care in 2018 were eligible for study inclusion. Descriptive statistics were used to report medication details; while medication appropriateness was assessed according to consensus criteria developed by Morin and colleagues. RESULTS: Six hundred and ninety patients were included in the study. Patients were using a mean number of 8.8 medications per day, while polypharmacy was evident in 80% of patients. In terms of potentially questionable medication, patients were prescribed a mean number of 1.3 per day. Common potentially questionable medications included vitamin and mineral supplements, antihypertensives, antiplatelets, lipid regulating agents and anticoagulants. The pill burden in this population was also high with, on average, people using 13.7 oral doses per day. CONCLUSIONS: Polypharmacy is common in patients accessing hospice care, as is the use of potentially questionable medication. The pill burden in this patient population is also high, which may be an additional treatment burden to patients. Holistic deprescribing approaches for this population should be developed and implemented.

Assessing models of concurrent substance use and sexual consent cues in mainstream films.

ObjectiveCollege students may not view sexual consent communication while under the influence of substances (i.e., alcohol and drugs) as problematic if media models the co-occurrence of these behaviors. The purpose of this study was to assess the types of consent cues used by characters who are and are not under the influence of substances in mainstream films. Method: Four researchers inductively analyzed popular mainstream films (N = 50). Films were assessed for substance use and consent communication cues. Results: Characters using substances were depicted using implicit verbal and explicit nonverbal consent cues more than characters who had not used substances. Conclusion: Films may perpetuate cultural narratives that substance use can be part of the consent process and that consent is communicated differently when people have used substances. Prevention programs could include media literacy to address misleading messages college students may internalize about substance use and sexual consent communication.

Identification of glycine N-acyltransferase-like 2 (GLYATL2) as a transferase that produces N-acyl glycines in humans.

The discovery of glycine conjugates of long-chain fatty acids (N-acyl glycines) in the brain and other non-neuronal tissues has led to the identification of an emerging class of bioactive lipids. The biological activities of N-acyl glycines include antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative effects, and activation of G-protein-coupled receptors. However, despite the fact that N-acyl glycines are emerging as a distinct lipid signaling family, pathways for their production are not fully elucidated. Here we report on the characterization of human glycine N-acyltransferase-like 2 (hGLYATL2), a member of a gene family of 4 putative glycine conjugating enzymes, and show that it synthesizes various N-acyl glycines. Recombinantly expressed hGLYATL2 efficiently conjugated oleoyl-CoA, arachidonoyl-CoA, and other medium- and long-chain acyl-CoAs to glycine. The enzyme was specific for glycine as an acceptor molecule, and preferentially produced N-oleoyl glycine. The hGLYATL2 enzyme is localized to the endoplasmic reticulum, and the mRNA shows highest expression in salivary gland and trachea, but is also detected in spinal cord and skin fibroblasts. The expression pattern and the identification of high levels of N-acyl glycines in skin and lung may indicate a role for N-acyl glycines in barrier function/immune response and the potential role of hGLYATL2 in this regard is discussed.

"It prevents a fertilized egg from attaching and causes a miscarriage of the baby": A qualitative assessment of how people understand the mechanism of action of emergency contraceptive pills.

OBJECTIVE: The mechanism of action (MOA) of emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) is frequently mischaracterized. Our objective was to identify how members of the general public understand the mechanisms of ECPs. STUDY DESIGN: We recruited a convenience sample from social media for a survey about reproductive health attitudes and analyzed spontaneous descriptions of how ECPs work. We inductively coded responses to create themes and subthemes, and collapsed subthemes into three MOA categories based on previous research. RESULTS: Among 1443 respondents, 533 mentioned an MOA in their description of ECPs. While nearly half of these responses (49.5%) stated that ECPs prevent pregnancy before fertilization occurs (in accordance with most biomedical ECP research), over 60% described a mechanism related to preventing implantation of a fertilized egg. Nine percent of responses described a postimplantation mechanism that would be considered abortion by mainstream medical standards. Some respondents conveyed significant confusion about the biological processes involved with pregnancy and pregnancy prevention. CONCLUSION: Confusion about how ECPs work was common among our sample. The largest group of responses described a mechanism-preventing implantation of a fertilized egg-listed on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved ECP labels that does not reflect most relevant biomedical research. Mischaracterizations of ECPs' mechanisms have been used to limit access to EC. These misunderstandings were common in our sample and may reflect poor quality sex education and public information, and confusion introduced by the FDA-approved labels. Additional research should identify whether public perception of ECPs' mechanisms influences policy, health care provision, and use of ECPs.

Elements of external validity of tools for health: an intervention for construction laborers.

PURPOSE: To examine the external validity of an efficacious tailored smoking cessation and nutrition improvement telephone intervention. DESIGN: Comparison of characteristics of participants and nonparticipants (representativeness); examination of the extent of intervention implementation. SETTING: Cancer center collaboration with a labor union. SUBJECTS: Unionized construction laborers. INTERVENTION: Tailored feedback report, telephone counseling, and supplementary educational materials focused on smoking cessation and improved nutrition. MEASURES: Background survey identifying socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics; process evaluation data; and final efficacy survey to determine participant satisfaction. ANALYSIS: Cross-classification and the chi(2) test of homogeneity were used with categorically measured variables comparing participants and nonparticipants. We compared the means in the two groups for continuously scaled measures using the Student t-test and investigated the multivariable association of the characteristics of participation with a multiple logistic regression. For process data we present frequencies, percentages, and means. RESULTS: Characteristics associated with participation included self-efficacy to change fruit and vegetable consumption (p = .0009) and self-identification with union's problems (p = 0.05). Eighty-six percent of non-smokers and 61% of smokers completed between 1 and 4 counseling sessions. Over one-half of non-smokers (61%) and smokers (53%) completed 4 or more calls and more smokers (34%) than non-smokers (11%) completed the 5+ sessions. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide a snapshot of characteristics of construction laborers to whom this intervention can be generalized and indicators of feasibility necessary for translating research into practice.

Multiple health behavior changes in a cancer prevention intervention for construction workers, 2001-2003.

INTRODUCTION: Few multiple behavior change interventions have addressed tobacco use in conjunction with fruit and vegetable consumption, particularly among high-risk blue-collar workers. Tools for Health, a cancer prevention intervention for construction laborers, was effective in achieving behavior change for smoking cessation and fruit and vegetable consumption separately. This study examines whether addressing smoking and fruit and vegetable consumption was successful in achieving positive change for both behaviors. We also explored possible explanations for the relationship between behavior changes in these 2 behavioral domains. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from a randomized controlled trial testing a smoking cessation and fruit and vegetable consumption intervention for construction workers. We used survey data from 300 intervention participants to answer our primary research question: Did participants who reported being smokers at baseline successfully quit smoking and increase their fruit and vegetable consumption by the end of the intervention? We used qualitative data from 16 small group discussions to help interpret these results. RESULTS: Tools for Health participants achieved substantial levels of smoking cessation and increased their fruit and vegetable consumption, concurrently, during the course of the intervention. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence that pairing smoking cessation with increasing fruit and vegetable consumption can be successful in a multiple behavior change intervention designed for high-risk blue-collar workers. Further, our findings provide potential directions for examining why this pairing might be complementary.

Localization of peroxisomal matrix proteins by photobleaching.

The distribution of some enzymes between peroxisomes and cytosol, or a dual localization in both these compartments, can be difficult to reconcile. We have used photobleaching in live cells expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP)-fusion proteins to show that imported bona fide peroxisomal matrix proteins are retained in the peroxisome. The high mobility of the GFP-fusion proteins in the cytosol and absence of peroxisomal escape makes it possible to eliminate the cytosolic fluorescence by photobleaching, to distinguish between exclusively cytosolic proteins and proteins that are also present at low levels in peroxisomes. Using this technique we found that GFP tagged bile acid-CoA:amino acid N-acyltransferase (BAAT) was exclusively localized in the cytosol in HeLa cells. We conclude that the cytosolic localization was due to its carboxyterminal non-consensus peroxisomal targeting signal (-SQL) since mutation of the -SQL to -SKL resulted in BAAT being efficiently imported into peroxisomes.

"Good sex" and religion: a feminist overview.

This article presents an overview of both the processes and the results of an international, interdisciplinary, and interreligious feminist study of "good sex" that resulted in a volume by the same name. We argue that religion (including its secular equivalent, i.e., global capitalism) remains a powerfully influential cultural force that shapes people's lives, in general, and sanctifies their beliefs, in particular, about what makes for good sex. This review seeks to expand conversations about sex in the bedroom and other private arenas (like the confessional) into more public venues and to demonstrate the connections between power, pleasure, and justice. The need to deconstruct religious traditions so as to critically analyze their structures and components is recognized. Several examples of how feminist scholars and activists are retrieving female-friendly religious insights from both their traditions and more transgressive communities of resistance are provided. This article also points to several ways that religious sexual scripts and norms might be reconstructed. Topics addressed include discussions of how to understand footbinding, the tendency of "forbidden" fruit to prove most erotic, whether sexual entanglements are spiritually dangerous distractions, and ways in which religion can make motherhood "compulsory." We examine both the ways in which equating sexual activity with reproductive activity have obscured the value of women's sexual delight and the risks to many women and children of an unqualified validation of sexual pleasure. Both the ambivalence of religious teachings about sexuality and the difficulties posed by monolithic portrayals of religious traditions are identified.

A Content Analysis of Sexual Consent and Refusal Communication in Mainstream Films.

Young adults have limited access to comprehensive sex education. As such, they may seek sexuality information through such alternative sources, such as mass media. Previous research suggests that media, including films and television shows, can influence sexual behaviors and attitudes. Because sexual consent communication is important to sexual experiences, the purpose of this study was to assess how sexual consent and refusal communication were depicted in films. We also examined contextual factors that influence consent and refusal communication, such as gender, relationship status, location, and types of sexual behaviors. Four researchers analyzed popular mainstream films (N = 50) from 2013 based on a codebook developed inductively and deductively. The most common consent and refusal communication cues were nonverbal or implicit. The majority of scenes portrayed consent immediately before sexual activity. We also conducted chi-squared analyses to assess differences in consent and refusal communication based on gender and relationship status. There were no gender differences in the portrayal of consent cues; however, characters in established relationships used nonverbal cues more often than those in novel relationships. Mass media can normalize behaviors, and our results suggest that films may further normalize nonverbal or implicit consent cues.

Disarming Pseudomonas aeruginosa Virulence by the Inhibitory Action of 1,10-Phenanthroline-5,6-Dione-Based Compounds: Elastase B (LasB) as a Chemotherapeutic Target.

Elastase B (lasB) is a multifunctional metalloenzyme secreted by the gram-negative pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and this enzyme orchestrates several physiopathological events during bacteria-host interplays. LasB is considered to be a potential target for the development of an innovative chemotherapeutic approach, especially against multidrug-resistant strains. Recently, our group showed that 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione (phendione), [Ag(phendione)2]ClO4 (Ag-phendione) and [Cu(phendione)3](ClO4)2.4H2O (Cu-phendione) had anti-P. aeruginosa action against both planktonic- and biofilm-growing cells. In the present work, we have evaluated the effects of these compounds on the (i) interaction with the lasB active site using in silico approaches, (ii) lasB proteolytic activity by using a specific fluorogenic peptide substrate, (iii) lasB gene expression by real time-polymerase chain reaction, (iv) lasB protein secretion by immunoblotting, (v) ability to block the damages induced by lasB on a monolayer of lung epithelial cells, and (vi) survivability of Galleria mellonella larvae after being challenged with purified lasB and lasB-rich bacterial secretions. Molecular docking analyses revealed that phendione and its Ag+ and Cu2+ complexes were able to interact with the amino acids forming the active site of lasB, particularly Cu-phendione which exhibited the most favorable interaction energy parameters. Additionally, the test compounds were effective inhibitors of lasB activity, blocking the in vitro cleavage of the peptide substrate, aminobenzyl-Ala-Gly-Leu-Ala-p-nitrobenzylamide, with Cu-phendione having the best inhibitory action (K i = 90 nM). Treating living bacteria with a sub-inhibitory concentration (½ × MIC value) of the test compounds caused a significant reduction in the expression of the lasB gene as well as its mature protein production/secretion. Further, Ag-phendione and Cu-phendione offered protective action for lung epithelial cells, reducing the A549 monolayer damage by approximately 32 and 42%, respectively. Interestingly, Cu-phendione mitigated the toxic effect of both purified lasB molecules and lasB-containing bacterial secretions in the in vivo model, increasing the survival time of G. mellonella larvae. Collectively, these data reinforce the concept of lasB being a veritable therapeutic target and phendione-based compounds (mainly Cu-phendione) being prospective anti-virulence drugs against P. aeruginosa.

The nudix hydrolase 7 is an Acyl-CoA diphosphatase involved in regulating peroxisomal coenzyme A homeostasis.

Coenzyme A (CoASH) is an obligate cofactor for lipids undergoing beta-oxidation in peroxisomes. Although the peroxisomal membrane appears to be impermeable to CoASH, peroxisomes contain their own pool of CoASH. It is believed that CoASH enters peroxisomes as acyl-CoAs, but it is not known how this pool is regulated. The mouse nudix hydrolase 7 (NUDT7alpha) was previously identified in peroxisomes as a CoA-diphosphatase, and therefore suggested to be involved in regulation of peroxisomal CoASH levels. Here we show that mouse NUDT7alpha mainly acts as an acyl-CoA diphosphatase, with highest activity towards medium-chain acyl-CoAs, and much lower activity with CoASH. Nudt7alpha mRNA is highly expressed in liver, brown adipose tissue and heart, similar to enzymes involved in peroxisomal lipid degradation. Nudt7alpha mRNA is down-regulated by Wy-14,643, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) ligand, in a PPARalpha-dependent manner in mouse liver. In highly purified peroxisomes, nudix hydrolase activity is highest with C(6)-CoA and is decreased by fibrate treatment. Under certain conditions, such as treatment with peroxisome proliferators or fasting, an increase in peroxisomal CoASH levels has been reported, which is in line with a decreased expression/activity of NUDT7alpha. Taken together these data suggest that NUDT7alpha function is tightly linked to peroxisomal CoASH/acyl-CoA homeostasis.

A peroxisomal acyltransferase in mouse identifies a novel pathway for taurine conjugation of fatty acids.

A wide variety of endogenous carboxylic acids and xenobiotics are conjugated with amino acids, before excretion in urine or bile. The conjugation of carboxylic acids and bile acids with taurine and glycine has been widely characterized, and de novo synthesized bile acids are conjugated to either glycine or taurine in peroxisomes. Peroxisomes are also involved in the oxidation of several other lipid molecules, such as very long chain acyl-CoAs, branched chain acyl-CoAs, and prostaglandins. In this study, we have now identified a novel peroxisomal enzyme called acyl-coenzyme A:amino acid N-acyltransferase (ACNAT1). Recombinantly expressed ACNAT1 acts as an acyltransferase that efficiently conjugates very long-chain and long-chain fatty acids to taurine. The enzyme shows no conjugating activity with glycine, showing that it is a specific taurine conjugator. Acnat1 is mainly expressed in liver and kidney, and the gene is localized in a gene cluster, together with two further acyltransferases, one of which conjugates bile acids to glycine and taurine. In conclusion, these data describe ACNAT1 as a new acyltransferase, involved in taurine conjugation of fatty acids in peroxisomes, identifying a novel pathway for production of N-acyltaurines as signaling molecules or for excretion of fatty acids.