Cysteine sulfinate

Figure 30-8. Catabolism of i-cysteine via the cysteine sulfinate pathway (top) and by the 3-mercaptopy-ruvate pathway (bottom).

However, Phinney (8) has suggested on the basis of experiments with mutants of Neurospora that the biosynthesis of cysteine involves the coupling of sulfate with an organic compound (presumably cysteine sulfinic acid) followed by reduction to sulfide. He noted also that sulfate may be reduced stepwise to sulfide and may then enter the protein as such. But he observed this process proceeds less readily than when sulfate combines first with protein. 

The desulfinase enzyme was reported to have narrow substrate specificity. In addition to HBPSi, only 2-phenyl benzene sulfinate was reported to serve as a substrate [164], It was found to be inactive against benzene sulfinate, cysteine sulfinate, benzene sulfonate, /7-toluene sulfonate, 1-octane sulfonate, methane sulfonate, and taurine. This enzyme was found to be inhibited by HBP beginning at 0.5 mM with complete loss of activity at 9 mM HBP, but was not affected by sulfite. 

HO g Ss C02H 0 NH2 Occurs in mammalian tissues Cysteine sulfinic acid - intermediate in the biosynthesis of taurine (taurine is essential for many biological processes) 13... 

S Additional information <9, 15, 17, 18, 21, 24, 30, 33, 35> (<18> activity is regulated by light [28] <30> D-aspartate, L-glutamate and -alanine are inactive as substitutes for L-aspartate in the forward reaction, in the reverse reaction ADP cannot be replaced by AMP, UDP, GDP or IDP [1] <17> aspartokinase III, o-isomers of the derivatives of aspartic acid, including D-aspartate cr-benzyl ester and o-aspartate /)-hydroxamate are not substrates regardless of whether the a- or the -carboxyl group is derivatized, L-cysteine sulfinate and 2-methyl-DL-aspartate are no substrates... 

A quantitatively important pathway of cysteine catabolism in animals is oxidation to cysteine sulfinate (Fig. 24-25, reaction z),450 a two-step hydroxyl-ation requiring 02, NADPH or NADH, and Fe2+. Cysteine sulfinic acid can be further oxidized to cyste-ic acid (cysteine sulfonate),454 which can be decarbox-ylated to taurine. The latter is a component of bile salts (Fig. 22-16) and is one of the most abundant free amino acids in human tissues 455-457 Its concentration is high in excitable tissues, and it may be a neurotransmitter (Chapter 30). Taurine may have a special function in retinal photoreceptor cells. It is an essential dietary amino acid for cats, who may die of heart failure in its absence,458 and under some conditions for humans.459 In many marine invertebrates, teleosts, and amphibians taurine serves as a regulator of osmotic pressure, its concentration decreasing in fresh water and increasing in salt water. A similar role has been suggested for taurine in mammalian hearts. A chronically low concentration of Na+ leads to increased taurine.460 Taurine can be reduced to isethionic acid... 

Fig. 24-25), another component of nervous tissue. Cysteic acid can arise in an alternative way from O-acetylserine and sulfite (reaction 1, Fig. 24-25), and taurine can also be formed by decarboxylation of cysteine sulfinic acid to hypotaurine and oxidation of the latter (reaction m). Cysteic acid can be converted to the sulfolipid of chloroplasts (p. 387 Eq. 20-12). 

Another route of metabolism for cysteine sulfinic acid is transamination to 3-sulfinylpyruvate, a compound that undergoes ready loss of S02 in a reaction analogous to the decarboxylation of oxaloacetate (reaction o, Fig. 24-25). This probably represents one of the major routes by which sulfur is removed from organic compounds in the animal body. However, before being excreted the sulfite must be oxidized to sulfate by the Mo-containing sulfite oxidase. The essentiality of sulfite oxidase is evidenced by the severe neurological defect observed in its absence (Chapter 16). 

An important property of 3-mercaptopyruvate arises from electron withdrawal by the carbonyl group. This makes the SH group electrophilic and able to be transferred as SH+, S°, to a variety of nucleophiles (Eq. 24-44). Thus sulfite yields thiosulfate (S2032 + H+, Eq. 24-45, step a), cyanide yields thiocyanate (Eq. 24-45, step b), and cysteine sulfinate yields alanine thiosulfonate.448 461 The reactions are catalyzed by mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase, an enzyme very similar to thiosulfate sulfurtransferase. The latter is a liver enzyme often called by the traditional... 

The problems encountered are numerous. Tryptophan is highly prone to degradation in acid digestions. This is especially the case in food analysis, where samples often contain significant quantities of carbohydrates that greatly exacerbate tryptophan s degradative tendencies. Cyst(e)ine is partially oxidized during acid hydrolysis and will likely be found in several forms cystine, cysteine, cysteine sulfinic acid, and cysteic acid. Methionine can be partially lost in simi-... 

The analysis of methionine and cysteine is problematic. The sulfur containing side chains of these amino acids are prone to oxidation. The standard hydrochloric acid hydrolysis will cause the partial conversion of these amino acids into cystine, cysteine, cysteine sulfinic acid, cysteic acid, methionine, methionine sulfoxide, and methionine sulfone. The classic strategy (79) for dealing with this problem is simply to drive the oxidative process to completion (i.e., convert all the cyst(e)ine to cysteic acid) and then to analyze chromatographically for cysteic acid and/or methionine sulfone. This is traditionally accomplished by a prehydrolysis treatment of the sample with performic acid. While this method has sufficed over the years, the typical recovery (85 -90%) and precision (4% intra- and 15% interlaboratory) have been poor (80). 

Chang TS, Jeong W, Woo HA, Lee SM, Park S, Rhee SG. 2004. Characterization of mammalian sulfiredoxin and its reactivation of hyperoxidized peroxiredoxin through reduction of cysteine sulfinic acid in the active site to cysteine. J Biol Chem 279 50994-51001. 

Biological oxidation of cysteine can yield, in addition to the disulfide cystine, cysteine sulfinic acid and the sulfonic acid cysteic acid. 

Male Sprague Dawley rats, seven days post weanling (Bantin and Kingman, Inc., Fremont, CA) were fed pelleted rodent chow (5001, Ralston Purina Co., St. Louis, MO) or modified AIN-76 diets (BioServ, Inc., Frenchtown, NJ) with or without added sulfur amino acids. Chow, diets, and water were supplied to the rats ad libitum. The AIN-76 diet (16) was modified to contain 12% casein (normally 20% casein), and the weight difference made up with cornstarch. The normal methionine supplement was not included. The cornstarch and sucrose portions were held separately from the casein/vitamin/mineral (CVM) mixture for the purpose of mixing amino acids with the cornstarch and sucrose (CsS). Methionine (MET), methionine sulfoxide (MSO) and cysteine sulfinic acid (CSA) were obtained from Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO. Cysteine monoxide (CMO) was prepared by the method of Savige et al., (17). 

L-Cysteine sulfinic Oxidation product of Cysteine mGlu-R Class I (la) agonist... 

Cyphomandra invertase inhibitor 13.8U Cypress camphor 5.7Gt Cystatins 13.5Bn Cysteic acid 3.3Ao, 5.5Bo Cysteine 3.3Ao, 14.2o Cysteine sulfinic acid 3.3Ao, 5.5Bo Cytisine 3.1Aa, 3. IBa Cytism scoparius lectin 12.2A Cytisus sessifolius lectin 12.2A Cytochalasin B 9.6A Cytochalasins A-M 9.6A... 

A combination of D-amino acid oxidase and L-amino transferase is an example of a deracemization by stereoinversion. The product is an L-amino acid. The reaction catalyzed by amino transferase has an equilibrium constant close to unity, a very unpractical situation leading to uncomplete transformation and to the production of almost inseparable mixtures of amino acids (at least two, the amino acid product and the amino add used as an amino donor). For preparative purposes it is therefore mandatory to shift the equihbrium to the product side. A recent example of a deracemization procedure based on this coupled enzymatic system is the preparation of L-2-naphthyl-alanine 6 as illustrated in Scheme 13.9 [28]. The reaction occurs in one pot with initial oxidation of the D-amino acid catalyzed by D-amino acid oxidase from Rhodotonda gracilis. The hydrogen peroxide that is formed in stoichiometric amounts is decomposed by catalase. The a-keto add is the substrate for L-aspartate amino transferase (L-Asp amino transferase), which is able to use L-cysteine sulfinic acid 7 as an amino donor. 

Some pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzymes are normally fuUy saturated with cofactor and show the same activity on assay in vitro whether additional pyridoxal phosphate is present in the incubation medium or not. Examples of this class of enzymes include liver cysteine sulfinate decarboxylase (which is involved in the synthesis of taurine from cysteine Section 14.5.1) and the brain and liver glutamate and aspartate aminotransferases. 

The rates of synthesis and cataholism of some pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzymes are altered in deficiency For example, within a few days of feeding a vitamin Be-free diet to animals, there is a fall in the activity of cysteine sulfinate decarboxylase in fiver after 2 weeks, the amount of the enzyme protein has fallen to extremely low levels. It is Ukely that these enzymes are sacrificed to release pyridoxal phosphate for other, more essential enzymes. Other enzymes show the opposite response - apparent induction of the apoenzyme in vitamin Be deficiency, presumably in an attempt to trap as much of the available pyridoxal phosphate as possible. Sato and coworkers (1996) demonstrated increased cataboUsm of apocystathionase in vitamin Be deficiency, but no decrease in the amount of immunoreactive protein in the liver, as a result of increased transcription. 

Figure 14.7. Pathways for the synthesis of taurine from cysteine. Cysteine sulfinate decarboxylase, EC 4.1.1.29 cysteic acid decarboxylase, EC 4.1.1.29 (glutamate decarboxylase, EC 4.1.1.15) cysteine oxidase, EC 1.13.11.20 cysteamine oxygenase, EC 1.13.11.19 and hypotaurine oxidase, EC 1.8.1.3. Relative molecular masses (Mr) cysteine, 121.2 cysteamine, 77.2 cysteine sulfinic acid, 153.2 cysteic acid, 169.2 hypotaurine, 109.1 and taurine, 125.1.

Oxidation to cysteic acid, followed by decarboxylation to taurine. Cysteic acid and cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase activities occur in constant ratio in various tissues, and it is likely that both substrates are decarboxy-lated by the same enzyme. In general, cysteine sulfinic acid is the preferred substrate, and there is little formation of taurine by way of cysteic acid. 

In the liver and brain, the main pathway is by way of cysteine sulfinic acid, whereas in tissues with low cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase activity the main precursor of taurine is cysteamine. 

The central nervous system has at least three enzymes capable of decar-hoxylating cysteine sulfonic acid, one of which is glutamate decarboxylase. Glutamate and cysteine sulfinic acid are mumaUy competitive. In some brain regions, more than half the total cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase activity may be from glutamate decarboxylase. 

Taurine is a dietary essential in the cat, which is an obligate carnivore with a limited capacity for taurine synthesis from cysteine. On a taurine-free diet, neither supplementary methionine nor cysteine will maintain normal plasma concentrations of taurine, because cats have an alternative pathway of cysteine metabolism reaction with mevalonic acid to yield felinine (3-hydroxy-1,1-dimethylpropyl-cysteine), which is excreted in the urine. The activity of cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase in cat liver is very low. 

It is not known to what extent taurine may be a dietary essential for human beings. There is little cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase activity in the human liver and, like the cat, loading doses of methionine and cysteine do not result in any significant increase in plasma taurine. This may be because cysteine sulfinic acid can also undergo transamination to /3-sulfhydryl pyruvate, which then loses sulfur dioxide nonenzymically to form pyruvate, thus regulating the amount of taurine that is formed from cysteine. There is no evidence of the development of any taurine deficiency disease under normal conditions. 

Canet-AvUes RM, Wilson MA, Miller DW, Ahmad R, McLendon C, Bandyopadhyay S, Baptista MJ, Ringe D, Petsko GA, Cookson MR (2004) The Parkinson s disease protein DJ-1 is neuro-protective due to cysteine-sulfinic acid-driven mitochondrial localization. Proc Natl Acad Sci US A 101 9103-9108... 

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