The Identification of Carnitine Palmityltransferase in Erythrocyte Membranes

The capacity of the mature human red cell membrane to synthesize palmitylcarnitine has been demonstrated. The localization of carnitine palmityltransferase in a membrane is consonant with the previously proposed function of carnitine as a carrier of activated long chain fatty acyl groups across a mitochondrial barrier. The presence of carnitine palmityltransferase in the red cell membrane raises the possibility that long chain fatty acylcarnitine might play a role in translocating long chain fatty acids across cell surface membranes.