Epimerization of 3-hydroxy-4-trans-decenoyl coenzyme A by a dehydration/hydration mechanism catalyzed by the multienzyme complex of fatty acid oxidation from Escherichia coli.

The mechanism of 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA epimerase (EC 5.1.2.3), which is associated with the multienzyme complex of fatty acid oxidation from Escherichia coli, was studied with D-3-hydroxy-4-trans-decenoyl-CoA as a substrate. The E. coli complex catalyzes the rapid and direct dehydration of D-3-hydroxy-4-trans-decenoyl-CoA to 2-trans,4-trans-decadienoyl-CoA, which is slowly hydrated to L-3-hydroxy-4-trans-decenoyl-CoA. A kinetic analysis of the epimerase and its partial reactions established that epimerization of 3-hydroxyacyl-CoAs occurs solely by a dehydration/hydration mechanism. The results of a substrate competition study with L-3-hydroxy-4-trans-decenoyl-CoA and its D-isomer, together with the conclusion from a sequence analysis of the large subunit of the E. coli complex (Yang, X.-Y., Schulz, H., Elzinga, M., and Yang, S.-Y. (1991) Biochemistry 30, 6788-6795), prompt the suggestion that a single active site is responsible for the dehydration of the D- and L-isomers of 3-hydroxyacyl-CoAs.