Figure 4.

Schematic figure of carnitine shuttle in the mitochondria. Acyl-CoA, derived from fatty acid, is unable to penetrate the mitochondrial outer membrane. Using carnitine palmitoyltransferase activity, acyl-CoA is transformed to acylcarnitine, which is then shuttled into the mitochondrial matrix by carnitine-acylcarnitine translocase. Finally, acylcarnitine is converted to acyl-CoA by carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 localized on the inner mitochondrial membrane. Abbreviations: CPT1 = carnitine palmitoyltransferase I; CPT2 = carnitine palmitoyltransferase II; CACT = carnitine-acylcarnitine translocase; PD = Parkinson’s disease.