Biochemical and Metabolic Implications of Tricarboxylic Acids and their Transporters

Tricarboxylic acid cycle is the essential metabolic pathway for cellular biosynthetic processes e.g. gluconeogenesis, amino acid and heme biosynthesis. Exploring the functional regulatory mechanism of the tricarboxylate transporters, especially the mitochondrial inner membrane transporters of liver, has received much attention due to their implications on various metabolomic diseases. The tricarboxylic acid transporter has been purified from liver with molecular weight 32.6 kDa. Based on the amino acid sequence analysis, six hypothetical membrane-spanning alpha helices have been recognized and used for development of an initial model for protein topographical, and modelling analyses of the tricarboxylate transporter within the inner membrane. The objective of this review was to emphasize the biochemical and metabolic implications of tricarboxylic acids especially citric, aconitic and itaconic acids and their transporters on the mitochondrial membrane of liver.