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Metastasis is the main cause of cancer-associated deaths, yet this complex process is still not well understood. Many studies have shown that acetate is involved in cancer metastasis, but the molecular mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we first measured the effect of acetate on zinc finger transcriptional repressor SNAI1 and acetyl-CoA synthetase 2 (ACSS2) under glucose limitation in renal cell carcinoma cell lines, 786-O and ACHN. Then, RNA interference and overexpression of ACSS2 were used to detect the role of acetate on SNAI1 expression and cell migration. Finally, chromatin immunoprecipitation assay (ChIP) was used to investigate the regulatory mechanism of acetate on SNAI1 expression. The results showed that acetate increased the expressions of SNAI1 and ACSS2 under glucose limitation. ACSS2 knockdown significantly decreased acetate-induced SNAI1 expression and cell migration, whereas overexpression of ACSS2 increased SNAI1 level and histone H3K27 acetylation (H3K27ac). ChIP results revealed that acetate increased H3K27ac levels in regulatory region of SNAI1, but did not increase ACSS2-binding ability. Our study identified a novel inducer, acetate, which can promote SNAI1 expression by ACSS2-mediated histone acetylation in partly. This finding has important implication in treatment of metastatic cancers.

Acetyl-CoA synthetase was purified 800-fold from Bradyrhizobium japonicum bacteroids. A specific activity of 16 mumol/min per mg of protein was achieved, with a 30-40% yield. The purification scheme consisted of only three consecutive chromatography steps. The enzyme has a native Mr of 150,000, estimated by gel-permeation chromatography, and a subunit Mr of 72,000, determined by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The optimum pH and temperature are 8.5 and 50 degrees C respectively. The Km values for acetate, CoA and ATP were 146, 202 and 275 microM respectively. The reaction was specific for acetate, as propionate and oleate were used very poorly. Likewise, the enzyme used only ATP, ADP or dATP; AMP, GTP, XTP and UTP could not replace ATP. Acetyl-CoA synthetase showed a broad specificity for metals; MnCl2 could replace MgCl2. In addition, CaCl2 and CoCl2 were approx. 50% as effective as MgCl2, but FeCl3, NiCl2 or ZnCl2 could not effectively substitute for MgCl2. The enzyme may be regulated by NADP+ and pyruvate; no effect was seen of amino acids, glucose catabolites, reduced nicotinamide nucleotides or acetyl-CoA. Inhibition was seen with AMP, PPi, FMN and pyridoxal phosphate, with Ki values of 720, 222, 397 and 1050 microM respectively.

Acetyl-CoA synthetase activity was shown to be present in pure cholinergic synaptosomes from electric organ of Torpedo marmorata. After osmotic disruption of synaptosomes a substantial part of the activity was recovered in the soluble fraction. The effects of varying pH and increasing K+ concentrations on the synaptosomal enzyme activity were shown to differ from those observed with the mitochondrial enzyme. Whereas this latter enzyme showed optimal activity above pH 8.5, and a maximal activation in the presence of 120 mM-K+, the synaptosomal enzyme exhibited an optimal activity at pH 7.9 and a moderate K+ stimulatory effect with an optimal concentration of 30 mM.

1. Hepatic lipogenesis in vivo and the activities of enzymes associated with fatty acid synthesis in the liver were studied in rats fed for 21 days on liquid diets containing ethanol. 2. The ethanol-fed rats developed a moderate hepatic triacylglycerol accumulation during this period. When carbohydrate was replaced by ethanol in the diet, the rate of fatty acid synthesis was slower in the ethanol-fed rats on low-, medium- and high-fat diets than in the appropriate controls. However, when the fat/carbohydrate ratio was kept the same in the ethanol-fed and control rats, ethanol had no influence on the rate of fatty acid synthesis. 3. Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was lower in the ethanol-fed group. ‘Malic’ enzyme activity did not change during the ethanol treatment when the fat/carbohydrate ratio was kept unchanged. 4. The ATP citrate lyase activity was lower in the ethanol-fed rats on all diets, whereas acetyl-CoA synthetase activity was independent of the composition of the control diet, but was lower in the ethanol-fed rats, in which the concentration of the active form of pyruvate dehydrogenase was also lower. 5. It is concluded that hepatic fatty acid synthesis does not play any major role in ethanol-induced triacylglycerol accumulation. Careful design of the diets is necessary to reveal the specific effects of ethanol on the enzymes associated with lipogenesis.

The effects of oleic acid on the activities of cytosolic HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA) synthase, AcAc-CoA (acetoacetyl-CoA) thiolase and AcAc-CoA synthetase, as well as microsomal HMG-CoA reductase, all enzymes in the pathway of cholesterol biosynthesis, were studied in the isolated perfused rat liver. Oleic acid bound to bovine serum albumin, or albumin alone, was infused for 4 h at a rate sufficient to sustain an average concentration of 0.61 +/- 0.05 mM fatty acid during the perfusion. Hepatic cytosol and microsomal fractions were isolated at the termination of the perfusion. Oleic acid simultaneously increased the activities of the cytosolic cholesterol-biosynthetic enzymes 1.4-2.7-fold in livers from normal fed rats and from animals fasted for 24 h. These effects were accompanied by increased net secretion by the liver of cholesterol and triacylglycerol in the very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). We confirmed the observations reported previously from this laboratory of the stimulation by oleic acid of microsomal HMG-CoA reductase. In cytosols from perfused livers, the increase in AcAc-CoA thiolase activity was characterized by an increase in Vmax. without any change in the apparent Km of the enzyme for AcAc-CoA. In contrast, oleic acid decreased the Km of HMG-CoA synthase for Ac-CoA, without alteration of the Vmax. of the enzyme. The Vmax. of AcAc-CoA synthetase was increased by oleic acid, and there was a trend towards a small increase in the Km of the enzyme for acetoacetate. These data allow us to conclude that the enzymes that supply the HMG-CoA required for hepatic cholesterogenesis are stimulated, as is HMG-CoA reductase, by a physiological substrate, fatty acid, that increases rates of hepatic cholesterol synthesis and cholesterol secretion. Furthermore, we suggest that these effects of fatty acid on hepatic cholesterol metabolism result from stimulation of secretion of triacylglycerol in the VLDL by fatty acids, and the absolute requirement of cholesterol as an important structural surface component of the VLDL necessary for transport of triacylglycerol from the liver.

1. The activity of citrate-cleavage enzyme varies in accordance with the nutritional state of the animal. It is suppressed on starvation and restored on re-feeding after starvation. 2. The increase in enzyme activity that occurs on re-feeding starved animals depends on the diet. It is largest on diets high in carbohydrate and low in fat, and smallest on diets high in fat. Intermediate increases are obtained with balanced diets. 3. The ratio of activities of citrate-cleavage enzyme to acetate thiokinase varies from 2·5 for animals maintained on a balanced diet to 20 for animals re-fed with a diet high in carbohydrate. 4. The changes in activity of citrate-cleavage enzyme correlate with changes in the rate of fatty acid synthesis and provide evidence for the involvement of the citrate-cleavage reaction in fatty acid synthesis.

Acetyl-CoA synthetase (EC 6.2.1.1) was assayed in subcellular fractions of rabbit liver homogenates. The activity was located almost exclusively in the cytosol. There was no decrease in activity when butyrate or propionate (each at 5–20 mM) were added to the assay medium.