Carnitine Today: Molecular Biology Intelligence Unit

1. The Role of Carnitine in Cell Metabolism.- A Century of Carnitine Research.- Biosynthesis, Uptake and Excretion.- Carnitine Acyltransferases.- Fatty Acid Oxidation in Liver.- Fatty Acid Oxidation in Heart.- Carnitine in Insulin Secretion.- Perspectives.- 2. Molecular Biology of Carnitine Palmitoyltransferases and Role of Carnitine in Gene Transcription.- Mitochondrial CPTs.- Peroxisomal CPTs.- Microsomal CPTs.- Nuclear CPTs.- A Role for Carnitine in the Transcriptional Regulation.- Perspectives.- 3. Carnitine and Myocardial Glucose Metabolism.- Review of the Literature.- Conclusions.- 4. Carnitine and Mitochondrial Dysfunction.- Mitochondrial Function and Dysfunction.- Carnitine-Related Mitochondrial Disorders.- Carnitine, CoA and Mitochondrial Function.- Carnitine and Mitochondrial Alterations Induced by Anoxia.- 5. Effect of L-Carnitine on Fas-Induced Apoptosis and Sphingomyelinase Activity in Human T Cell Lines.- Materials and Methods.- Effect of Camitine on Fas-Induced Apoptosis in Hut78 and U937 Cells.- Effect of L-Carnitine on Fas Crosslinking-Induced Ceramide Generation in Hut78 and U937 Cells.- Effect of L-Carnitine on Fas Crosslinking-Induced Acidic and Neutral SMases.- Effects of L-Carnitine on Purified Acidic and Neutral SMases in Vitro.- Discussion.- 6. Carnitine Deficiency: Primary and Secondary Syndromes.- Carnitine Metabolism.- Functions of Carnitine.- Carnitine Deficiency in Humans.- Primary Carnitine Deficiencies.- Secondary Carnitine Deficiencies.- Myocardial Diseases and Secondary Carnitine Deficiency.- Diabetes and Secondary Carnitine Deficiency.- Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies.- Drugs and Carnitine Deficiency.- 7. Carnitine Against Ischemia and Lipopolysaccharide Toxicity.- L-Carnitine in the Treatment of Ischemic Muscles.- Summary.- 8. Carnitine and Derivatives in Experimental Infections.- Results of Murine Studies.- Results of Rat Studies.- Discussion.- 9. Involvement of Carnitine in Reye’s and Reye-Like Syndromes.- Definition of Reye’s and Reye-Like Syndromes.- Pathological Manifestation of RS and RLS.- Involvement of Carnitine.- Carnitine Treatment in RS and RLS.- 10. Fatigue Syndrome.- Summary.- Acylcarnitine (ACR) Deficiency in CFS.- ACR Metabolism in Mammals.- The Uptake of ACR in the Brain of Rhesus Monkeys and Humans.- Hypothesis: the Role of ACR in the Etiology of CFS.- Acetyl-L-Camitine Treatment for Patients with CFS.- 11. L-Carnitine, a Modulator of Immunometabolic Homeostasis in Subjects Infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.- Immunomodulating Properties of L-Carnitine.- Serum and Cellular Carnitine Deficiency in HIV-Infected Subjects.- Carnitine Deficiency and Mitochondrial Toxicity of Nucleoside Analogs.- Etiology of Carnitine Deficiency in AIDS.- Impact of L-Carnitine Therapy on Lymphocyte Mitogen Responsiveness and Carnitine Cellular Content.- Impact of L-Carnitine Therapy on Lymphocyte Apoptosis, CD4 Cell Decline and HIV Viremia.- Concluding Remarks.- 12. Effect of L-Carnitine on the AZT-Induced Mitochondrial Toxicity: Studies on Human Muscle Cultures.- In Vitro Studies.- In Vivo Studies.- Conclusions.- 13. Possible Anti-Apoptotic Activity of Carnitines on Excitatory Amino Acid-Induced Neurotoxicity.- Glutamate and Cancer.- Glutamate May Mediate Some Neurological Disorders.- Pharmacotherapy for Excitatory Amino Acid-Induced Neurotoxicity.