B-Oxidation Pathway:

Step 1.  Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase catalyzes oxidation of the fatty acid moiety of acyl-CoA, to produce a double bond between carbon atoms 2 and 3.

There are different Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenases for short (4-6 C), medium (6-10 C), long and very long (12-18 C) chain fatty acids. Very Long Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase is bound to the inner mitochondrial membrane. The others are soluble enzymes located in the mitochondrial matrix.

FAD is the prosthetic group that functions as electron acceptor for Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase. 

A glutamate side-chain carboxyl extracts a proton from the a-carbon of the substrate, facilitating transfer of 2 e- with H+ (a hydride) from the b position to FAD. The reduced FAD accepts a second H+, yielding FADH2

The carbonyl oxygen of the thioester substrate is hydrogen bonded to the 2'-OH of the ribityl moiety of FAD, giving this part of FAD a role in positioning the substrate and increasing acidity of the substrate a-proton

The reactive glutamate and FAD are on opposite sides of the substrate at the active site. Thus the reaction is stereospecific, yielding a trans double bond in enoyl-CoA.

FADH2 of Acyl CoA Dehydrogenase is reoxidized by transfer of 2 electrons to an Electron Transfer Flavoprotein (ETF), which in turn passes the electrons to coenzyme Q of the respiratory chain.

Step 2. Enoyl-CoA Hydratase catalyzes stereospecific hydration of the trans double bond produced in the 1st step of the pathway, yielding L-hydroxyacyl-Coenzyme A

Step 3. Hydroxyacyl-CoA Dehydrogenase catalyzes oxidation of the  hydroxyl in the b position (C3) to a ketone. NAD+ is the electron acceptor.

Step 4. b-Ketothiolase (b-Ketoacyl-CoA Thiolase) catalyzes thiolytic cleavage.

A cysteine S attacks the b-keto C. Acetyl-CoA is released, leaving the fatty acyl moiety in thioester linkage to the cysteine thiol. The thiol of HSCoA displaces the cysteine thiol, yielding fatty acyl-CoA (2 C shorter).

A membrane-bound trifunctional protein complex with two subunit types expresses the enzyme activities for steps 2-4 of the b-oxidation pathway for long chain fatty acids. Equivalent enzymes for shorter chain fatty acids are soluble proteins of the mitochondrial matrix.

Summary of one round of the b-oxidation pathway:

fatty acyl-CoA + FAD + NAD+ + HS-CoA → 
            fatty acyl-CoA (2 C shorter) + FADH2 + NADH + H+ + acetyl-CoA

The b-oxidation pathway is cyclic. The product, 2 carbons shorter, is the input to another round of the pathway. If, as is usually the case, the fatty acid contains an even number of C atoms, in the final reaction cycle butyryl-CoA is converted to 2 copies of acetyl-CoA

ATP production:


FADH2 of Acyl CoA Dehydrogenase is reoxidized by transfer of 2 e- via ETF to coenzyme Q of the respiratory chain. H+ ejection from the mitochondrial matrix that accompanies transfer of 2 e- from CoQ to oxygen, leads via chemiosmotic coupling to production of approximately 1.5 ATP. (Approx. 4 H+ enter the mitochondrial matrix per ATP synthesized.)
NADH is reoxidized by transfer of 2 e- to the respiratory chain complex I. Transfer of 2 e- from complex I to oxygen yields approximately 2.5 ATP.
Acetyl-CoA can enter Krebs cycle, where the acetate is oxidized to CO2, yielding additional NADH, FADH2, and ATP. 
Fatty acid oxidation is a major source of cellular ATP


b-Oxidation of very long chain fatty acids also occurs within peroxisomes

 

FAD is electron acceptor for peroxisomal Acyl-CoA Oxidase, which catalyzes the first oxidative step of the pathway. The resulting FADH2 is reoxidized in the peroxisome producing hydrogen peroxide FADH2 + O2 à FAD + H2O2

The peroxisomal enzyme Catalase degrades H2O2 by the reaction:
2 H2O2 → 2 H2O + O2
These reactions produce no ATP

Once fatty acids are reduced in length within the peroxisomes they may shift to the mitochondria to be catabolized all the way to CO2. Carnitine is also involved in transfer of fatty acids into and out of peroxisomes