Entry of Fatty Acids into the Mitochondria [Video]

Short and medium chain fatty acids do not require help from membrane transporters to enter the mitochondria. Longer chain fatty acids do.

In this video I discuss about the carnitine system:

• in the cytosol, activated fatty acids are esterified to CoA and transesterified to carnitine (via CPT-I)
• fatty acyl-carnitine moves into the intermembrane space of the mitochondria
• they enter the mitochondrial matrix through facilitated diffusion by carnitine/acyl-carnitine translocase
• carnitine is freed and fatty acyl CoA reform (via CPT-II); carnitine can diffuse back across the IMS through the same translocase
• the process can take place all over again

The video makes it easier to understand.

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Cristi Vlad, Self-Experimenter and Author