Carbamoyl phosphate arginine synthesis

Carbamoyl phosphate synthase contributes to two processes (a) the initial enzyme in the biosynthesis of pyrimidines and (b) a component in the synthesis of arginine biosynthesis or the urea cycle. In bacteria both of these processes occur within the same compartment. In human beings the carbamoyl phosphate synthase involved in the urea cycle is contained in... 

Fermentation of arginine via citrulline and carbamoyl phosphate represents an additional mechanism of energy conservation resulting in ATP synthesis. This substrate-level phosphorylation does not require membrane-bound enzyme systems. 

Carbamoyl phosphate synthesis requires amino acid acetyltransferase (N-acetylglutamate synthase, mitochondrial) and carbamoyl-phosphate synthase I (CPSI). N-Acetylglutamate (NAG) is an obligatory positive effector of CPSI. NAG synthase is under positive allosteric modulation by arginine and product inhibition by NAG. Depletion of CoA-SH decreases NAG synthesis and ureage-nesis. This situation can occur in organic acidemias (e.g., propionic acidemia Chapter 18), in which organic acids produced in excess compete for CoA-SH for formation... 

In the biosynthesis of both pyrimidine and urea (or arginine) (Chapter 17), carbamoyl phosphate is the source of carbon and nitrogen atoms. In pyrimidine biosynthesis, carbamoyl phosphate serves as donor of the carbamoyl group to aspartate with the formation of carbamoyl aspartate. In urea synthesis, the carbamoyl moiety of carbamoyl phosphate is transferred to ornithine, giving rise to citrulline. 

Carbamoyl Phosphate Synthetase Generation of an Intermediate for Arginine and Pyrimidine Synthesis (Diagram)... 

Two other types of regulation control the urea cycle allosteric activation of CPSI by 7V-acetylglutamate (NAG) and induction/repression of the synthesis of urea cycle enzymes. NAG is formed specifically to activate CPSI it has no other known function in mammals. The synthesis of NAG from acetyl CoA and glutamate is stimulated by arginine (Fig. 38.15). Thus, as arginine levels increase within the liver, two important reactions are stimulated. The first is the synthesis of NAG, which will increase the rate at which carbamoyl phosphate is produced. The second is to produce more ornithine (via the arginase reaction), such that the cycle can operate more rapidly. 

F. 38.15. Activation of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I (CPSI). Arginine stimulates the synthesis of 7V-acetylglutamate, which activates CPSI. 

Carbamoyl phosphate (CP) serves as a substrate for two separate transcarbamylase enzymes. One of these, in a reaction with aspartic acid, yields carbamoyl aspartate, the first specific precursor in the UMP pathway the other, in a similar reaction with ornithine, has a similar role for the eventual synthesis of arginine. Thus, CP serves as a common precursor for both UMP and arginine, and special regulation of its formation must be obtained to assure a balanced supply of both end products. The problem is handled in a variety of ways by different organisms. 

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