coenzyme A

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coenzyme

[ko-en´zīm]

an organic molecule, usually containing phosphorus and some vitamins, sometimes separable from the enzyme protein; a coenzyme and an apoenzyme must unite in order to function (as a holoenzyme).

coenzyme A a coenzyme essential for carbohydrate and fat metabolism; among its constituents are pantothenic acid and a terminal SH group, which forms linkages with various acids, e.g., acetic acid (acetyl CoA) and fatty acids (acyl CoA); abbreviated CoA.

coenzyme Q any of a group of related quinones occurring in the lipid fraction of mitochondria and serving, along with the cytochromes, as an intermediate in electron transport; they are similar in structure and function to vitamin K₁.

co·en·zyme A (CoA),

(kō-en'zīm),

A coenzyme containing pantothenic acid, adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-pyrophosphate, and cysteamine; involved in the transfer of acyl groups, notably in transacetylations.

coenzyme A

n. Abbr. CoA

A coenzyme present in all living cells that transfers acetyl or acyl groups in metabolic reactions and that regulates gene expression through acetylation of histones.

co·en·zyme A

(CoA) (kō-en'zīm)

A coenzyme containing pantothenic acid, adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-pyrophosphate, and cysteamine; involved in the transfer of acyl groups, notably in transacetylations.

coenzyme A

see ACETYLCOENZYME A.

References in periodicals archive ?

"Coenzyme A looks like a prebiotic type of molecule because it seems to have formed from assorted building blocks, such as nucleotides and amino acids," says James P.

Origins of life: keys to an early chemical

This work paralleled the work done the year before by Bloch, who used carbon-14 as a tracer to work out the way coenzyme A was involved with cholesterol synthesis.