3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine tyrosine

Ascorbic acid in this system is acting as an immediate hydrogen donator to the quinone and, in conjunction with the oxidase, confers the properties of a hydrogen carrier (reversible oxidation and reduction) on substances such as 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine. Tyrosine under such conditions serves as a reservoir for the supply of the dihydric phenolic derivative. 

Tyrosine Dihydroxyphenylalanine, tyrosine-tyrosine bridges, nitrotyrosine... 

Tyrosine is the immediate precursor of catecholamines, and tyrosine hydroxylase is the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis. Tyrosine hydroxylase is found in both soluble and particle-bound forms only in tissues that synthesize catecholamines it functions as an oxidoreductase, with tetrahydropteridine as a cofactor, to convert L-tyrosine to L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa). 

The pathway for synthesis of the catecholamines dopamine, noradrenaline and adrenaline, illustrated in Fig. 8.5, was first proposed by Hermann Blaschko in 1939 but was not confirmed until 30 years later. The amino acid /-tyrosine is the primary substrate for this pathway and its hydroxylation, by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), to /-dihydroxyphenylalanine (/-DOPA) is followed by decarboxylation to form dopamine. These two steps take place in the cytoplasm of catecholaminereleasing neurons. Dopamine is then transported into the storage vesicles where the vesicle-bound enzyme, dopamine-p-hydroxylase (DpH), converts it to noradrenaline (see also Fig. 8.4). It is possible that /-phenylalanine can act as an alternative substrate for the pathway, being converted first to m-tyrosine and then to /-DOPA. TH can bring about both these reactions but the extent to which this happens in vivo is uncertain. In all catecholamine-releasing neurons, transmitter synthesis in the terminals greatly exceeds that in the cell bodies or axons and so it can be inferred... 

Figure 8.5 The synthetic pathway for noradrenaline. The hydroxylation of the amino acid, tyrosine, which forms dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) is the rate-limiting step. Conversion of dopamine to noradrenaline is effected by the vesicular enzyme, dopamine-P-hydroxylase (DpH) after uptake of dopamine into the vesicles from the cell cytosol...

Figure 1. The biosynthetic pathway from tyrosine to melanin (according to Hearing and Tsukamoto, 1991 Tsukamoto et al., 1992). Tyrosinase catalyzes three different reactions in this pathway (1, 2, 3). The reaction catalyzed by the product of TRP-2, DOPAchrome tautomerase, is indicated by 4. DOPA = 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine DHICA = 5,6-dihydroxyin-dole-2-carboxylic acid DHI = 5,6-dihydroxyindole.

Recently, chloromethylated benzocoumarin 11c, hydroxylmethylated benzocou-marin 12, and chloromethylated coumarin 13 were used in the efficient preparation of several fluorescent ester conjugates of /V-benzyloxycarbonyl-neurotransmitter amino acids, such as p-alanine, tyrosine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), glutamic acid, and y-aminobutyric acid (GABA) [39, 40],... 

Dopamine synthesis in dopaminergic terminals (Fig. 46-3) requires tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) which, in the presence of iron and tetrahydropteridine, oxidizes tyrosine to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (levodopa.l-DOPA). Levodopa is decarboxylated to dopamine by aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (AADC), an enzyme which requires pyri-doxyl phosphate as a coenzyme (see also in Ch. 12). 

L-tyrosine + 0, dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) + H20 As a model reaction, we represent an enzyme-catalyzed reaction by... 

Vitamin Ba (pyridoxine, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine) like nicotinic acid is a pyridine derivative. Its phosphorylated form is the coenzyme in enzymes that decarboxylate amino acids, e.g., tyrosine, arginine, glycine, glutamic acid, and dihydroxyphenylalanine. Vitamin B participates as coenzyme in various transaminations. It also functions in the conversion of tryptophan to nicotinic acid and amide. It is generally concerned with protein metabolism, e.g., the vitamin B8 requirement is increased in rats during increased protein intake. Vitamin B6 is also involved in the formation of unsaturated fatty acids. 

The oxidation of cysteine, as well as other amino acids, was studied by Mudd et a/. Individual amino acids in aqueous solution were exposed to ozone the reported order of susceptibility was cysteine, methionine, tryptophan, tyrosine, histidine, cystine, and phenylalanine. Other amino acids were not affected. This order is similar to that for the relative susceptibility of amino acrids to radiation and to lipid peroxides. Evaluation of the ozonization products revealed that cysteine was converted to cysteic acid, as well as cystine methionine to methionine sulfoxide tryptophan to a variety of pioducrts, including kynurenine and N-formylkynurenine tyrosine also to a variety of products, includiitg dihydroxyphenylalanine histidine to ammonia, proline, and other compounds and cystine in part to cysteic acid. In some cases, the rate and end products depended on the pH of the solution. 

Figure 11.17 Supplementation of diet with y-linolenic acid to overcome a deficiency of A desaturase Supplementation of a diet with DOPA to overcome a deficiency of monooxygenase in Parkinson s disease. A desaturase is a rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of arachidonic acid. Supplementation of diet with y-linolenic acid bypasses this enzyme. Damage to neurones in the brain that use dopamine as a neurotransmitter causes a deficiency of rate-limiting a supplement - enzyme, tyrosine monooxygenase, which is bypassed by a supplement, DOPA (dihydroxyphenylalanine). DOPA (usually, described as L-DOPA) is considered by the medical profession as a drug but, in reality, it is a dietary supplement.

Vitamin C is essential for the formation of collagen, the principal structural protein in skin, bone, tendons, and ligaments, being a cofactor in the hydroxylation of the amino acids proline to 4-hydroxyproline, and of lysine to 5-hydroxylysine. These hydroxyamino acids account for up to 25% of the collagen structure. Vitamin C is also associated with some other hydroxylation reactions, e.g. the hydroxylation of tyrosine to dopa (dihydroxyphenylalanine) in the pathway to catecholamines (see Box 15.3). Deficiency leads to scurvy, a condition characterized by muscular pain, skin lesions, fragile blood vessels, bleeding gums, and tooth loss. Vitamin C also has valuable antioxidant properties (see Box 9.2), and these are exploited commercially in the food industries. 

Dopamine is the decarboxylation product of DOPA, dihydroxyphenylalanine, and is formed in a reaction catalysed by DOPA decarboxylase. This enzyme is sometimes referred to as aromatic amino acid decarboxylase, since it is relatively non-specific in its action and can catalyse decarboxylation of other aromatic amino acids, e.g. tryptophan and histidine. DOPA is itself derived by aromatic hydroxylation of tyrosine, using tetrahydrobiopterin (a pteridine derivative see Section 11.9.2) as cofactor. 

The biosynthesis of aristolochic acids is considered to begin with 1-ben-zyltetrahydroisoquinoline precursors and to proceed via aporphine intermediates (5). In radioactive labeling studies, Spenser and Tiwari infused d/-tyrosine-2- C into the stem of A. sipho. The C-labeled aristolochic acid I formed lost more than 60% of its radioactivity when it was decarboxylated to the corresponding nitro phenanthrene derivative. Administration of d/-dihydroxyphenylalanine-2- C re-... 

Synthesis of norepinephrine begins with the amino acid tyrosine, which enters the neuron by active transport, perhaps facilitated by a permease. In the neuronal cytosol, tyrosine is converted by the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase to dihydroxyphenylalanine (dopa), which is converted to dopamine by the enzyme aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase, sometimes termed dopa-decarboxylase. The dopamine is actively transported into storage vesicles, where it is converted to norepinephrine (the transmitter) by dopamine (3-hydroxylase, an enzyme within the storage vesicle. 

Mechanism of Action A tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor that blocks conversion of tyrosine to dihydroxyphenylalanine, the rate limiting step in the biosynthetic pathway of catecholamines. Therapeutic Effect Reduces levels of endogenous catecholamines. 

The Pauly reagent will react with histidine, tyrosine, thyroxine, and dihydroxyphenylalanine to give a bright yellow and red color. Diiodotyrosine and creatinine give much weaker reactions. 

With tyrosinase, on the contrary, a two-electron oxidation occurs, as no EPR signal was detected in the catechol oxidation at pH 5.3 Melanins are polymerization products of tyrosine, whereby tyrosinase catalyses the first steps the formation of dopa (3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) and of dopaquinone, leading to an indolequi-none polymer The peroxidase mechanism for the conversion of tyrosine into dopa in melanogenesis was not substantiated In natural and synthetic melanins free radicals of a semiquinone type were detected by EPR 4-10 x 10 spins g of a hydrated suspension (the material was modified on drying and the number of free spins increased). The fairly symmetrical EPR signal had a g-value of 2.004 and a line-width of 4-10 G The melanins seem to be natural radical scavengers. 

Several direct aromatic fluorinations are carried out with the positron-emitting isotope 18F which is an essential component in the operation of Positron Emitting Tomography (PET). Tyrosine is dissolved in hydrogen fluoride and when fluorinated with 18F-F it produces mainly 3-[ 8F]fluorotyrosine (8) without losing its optical activity. The use of nonacidic solvents reduces the yields considerably.52 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine is similarly fluorinated either in hydro-... 

The hereditary absence of phenylalanine hydroxylase, which is found principally in the liver, is the cause of the biochemical defect phenylketonuria (Chapter 25, Section B).430 4308 Especially important in the metabolism of the brain are tyrosine hydroxylase, which converts tyrosine to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, the rate-limiting step in biosynthesis of the catecholamines (Chapter 25), and tryptophan hydroxylase, which catalyzes formation of 5-hydroxytryptophan, the first step in synthesis of the neurotransmitter 5-hydroxytryptamine (Chapter 25). All three of the pterin-dependent hydroxylases are under complex regulatory control.431 432 For example, tyrosine hydroxylase is acted on by at least four kinases with phosphorylation occurring at several sites.431 433 4338 The kinases are responsive to nerve growth factor and epidermal growth factor,434 cAMP,435 Ca2+ + calmodulin, and Ca2+ + phospholipid (protein kinase C).436 The hydroxylase is inhibited by its endproducts, the catecholamines,435 and its activity is also affected by the availability of tetrahydrobiopterin.436... 

A combination of decarboxylation and hydroxyla-tion of the ring of tyrosine produces derivatives of o-dihydroxybenzene (catechol), which play important roles as neurotransmitters and are also precursors to melanin, the black pigment of skin and hair. Catecholamines may be formed by decarboxylation of tyrosine into tyramine (step e, Fig. 25-5) and subsequent oxidation. However, the quantitatively more important route is hydroxylation by the reduced pterin-dependent tyrosine hydroxylase (Chapter 18) to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, better known as dopa. The latter is decarboxylated to dopamine.1313 Hydroxylation of dopamine by an ascorbic acid and... 

FIGURE 27.5 Tyrosine is the biosynthetic precursor to a number of neurotransmitters. Each transformation is enzyme-catalyzed. Hydroxy-lation of the aromatic ring of tyrosine converts it to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa), decarboxylation of which gives dopamine. Hy-droxylation of the benzylic carbon of dopamine converts it to norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and methy-lation of the amino group of norepinephrine yields epinephrine (adrenaline). 

Noradrenergic neurons. The noradrenergic neuron uses NE for its neurotransmitter. Monoamine neurotransmitters are synthesized by means of enzymes, which assemble neurotransmitters in the cell body or nerve terminal. For the noradrenergic neuron, this process starts with tyrosine, the amino acid precursor of NE, which is transported into the nervous system from the blood by means of an active transport pump (Fig. 5 — 17). Once inside the neuron, the tyrosine is acted on by three enzymes in sequence, the first of which is tyrosine hydroxylase (TOH), the rate-limiting and most important enzyme in the regulation of NE synthesis. Tyrosine hydroxylase converts the amino acid tyrosine into dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA). The second enzyme DOPA decarboxylase (DDC), then acts, converting DOPA into dopamine (DA), which itself is a neurotransmitter in some neurons. However, for NE neurons, DA is just a precursor of NE. In fact, the third and final NE synthetic enzyme, dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), converts DA into NE. The NE is then stored in synaptic packages called vesicles until released by a nerve impulse (Fig. 5—17). 

The phenol-oxidizing enzyme tyrosinase has two types of activity (/) phenol o-hydroxylase (cresolase) activity, whereby a monophenol is converted into an o-diphenol via the incorporation of oxygen, and (2) cathecholase activity, whereby the diphenol is oxidized. The two reactions are illustrated in Figure 2-6, in the conversion of tyrosine (2.40) to L-DOPA (3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (2.41), dopaquinone (2.42), and indole-5,6-quinone carboxylate (2.43), which is further converted to the brown pigment... 

---