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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Aug 4.
Published in final edited form as: Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2009 Aug 29;61(14):1332–1342. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2009.06.009

Figure 1. Metabolic fate of acetyl-CoA derived from acetylcarnitine.

Figure 1

The supplemented acetylcarnitine (AcetylC) is transported into the mitochondria via the inner membrane carnitine acylcarnitine transferase (CACT). Acetyl-CoA formed through the mass-action of carnitine acetyltransferase (CAT) or synthesized de novo from acetate becomes available for tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), lipoic acid synthesis, and mitochondrial protein acetylation. Cytosolic acetyl-CoA is derived from transported mitochondrial citrate or peroxisomal acetate. Nuclear acetyl-CoA is either directly imported from the cytosol or synthesized from acetate by acetyl-CoA synthetase or via the potential nuclear CAT using acetylcarnitine. Nuclear acetyl-CoA controls gene expression via acetylation of histone and non-histone proteins.