Description
The condensation of the dicarboxylate oxaloacetate and acetyl CoA to the tricarboxylate citrate is catalyzed by citrate synthase. It is within this reaction that carbon molecules (as acetyl CoA) obtained from pyruvate oxidation are fed into the tricarboxylic acid (TCA or citric acid) cycle. As a mitochondrial enzyme, citrate synthase is commonly used as a normalization factor for mitochondrial protein, but can also be used as a biomarker for mitochondrial content in a tissue homogenate