Thiolase, active site <p>Two different types of thiolase [<cite idref="PUB00001113"/>, <cite idref="PUB00002552"/>, <cite idref="PUB00003423"/>] are found both in eukaryotes and in prokaryotes: acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase (<db_xref db="EC" dbkey="2.3.1.9"/>) and 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase (<db_xref db="EC" dbkey="2.3.1.16"/>). 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase (also called thiolase I) has a broad chain-length specificity for its substrates and is involved in degradative pathways such as fatty acid beta-oxidation. Acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase (also called thiolase II) is specific for the thiolysis of acetoacetyl-CoA and involved in biosynthetic pathways such as poly beta-hydroxybutyrate synthesis or steroid biogenesis.</p><p>In eukaryotes, there are two forms of 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase: one located in the mitochondrion and the other in peroxisomes.</p><p>Mammalian nonspecific lipid-transfer protein (nsL-TP) (also known as sterol carrier protein 2) is a protein which seems to exist in two different forms: a 14 Kd protein (SCP-2) and a larger 58 Kd protein (SCP-x). The former is found in the cytoplasm or the mitochondria and is involved in lipid transport; the latter is found in peroxisomes. The C-terminal part of SCP-x is identical to SCP-2 while the N-terminal portion is evolutionary related to thiolases [<cite idref="PUB00001113"/>].</p><p>There are two conserved cysteine residues important for thiolase activity. The first located in the N-terminal section of the enzymes is involved in the formation of an acyl-enzyme intermediate; the second, which is found in the signature pattern in this entry, is located at the C-terminal extremity and is the active site base involved in deprotonation in the condensation reaction [<cite idref="PUB00052320"/>].</p>