Pantothenate, also called vitamin B5, is a nutrient that everyone requires in their diet. The nutrient gets its name from the greek word “pantothen” which means “from everywhere.” The reason it is called this is because pantothenic acid is found in almost every food. It is a precursor of coenzyme A, which is an essential part of many reactions in the body, specifically important in the production of compounds like cholesterol and different fatty acids. Most of pantothenic acid is found in food as phosphopentetheine or coenzyme A. Pantothenic acid, pantetheine 4’-phosphate and pantetheine are all found in red blood cells. The 6 step process in which coenzyme A is created begins with the creation of pantothenic acid from pantetheine, which is catalyzed by the enzyme pantetheinase. Pantothenic acid then works with pantothenate kinase 1 to produce D-4’-phosphopantothenate. This compound quickly becomes 4’phosphopantothenoylcysteine through the enzyme phosphopantothenate-cysteine ligase. 4’phosphopantothenoylcysteine then uses phosphopantothenoylcysteine decarboxylase to create pantetheine 4’-phosphate. This compound then undergoes two reactions, both resulting in the production of dephospho-CoA; the first reaction uses ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase family member 1, the second uses bifunctional coenzyme A synthase. In the final step of coenzyme A synthesization, bifunctional coenzyme A synthase catalyzes dephospho-CoA into coenzyme A.

Pantothenate and CoA Biosynthesis References