A snapshot of carnitine acetyltransferase

Carnitine acetyltransferase (CrAT) is part of the carnitine system that protects the acylation state of the pools of acetyl-coenzyme A, a key metabolic intermediate, by transferring excess acetate and other short-chain acyl groups to and from carnitine. The homology of CrAT with other carnitine acyltransferases, such as carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT-1) that regulates fatty acid metabolism, make the solving of its structure a landmark in understanding mechanism and ligand binding in this family.