FAD Flavin coenzymes

Flavin adenine dinucleotide. See FAD Flavin adenine diphosphate. See FAD Flavin coenzymes 766,780 - 795 modified 788, 789 reduced 794 Flavin radicals 792 color of 794 formation constant 794 Flavocytochrome b2 782, 794, 847 Flavodoxins 793, 799, 800 Flavoprotein(s) 513, 788... 

Note that flavin coenzymes can carry out either one-electron or two-electron transfers. The succinate dehydrogenase reaction represents a net two-electron reduction of FAD. 

Indicine IV-oxide (169) (Scheme 36) is a clinically important pyrrolizidine alkaloid being used in the treatment of neoplasms. The compound is an attractive drug candidate because it does not have the acute toxicity observed in other pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Indicine IV-oxide apparently demonstrates increased biological activity and toxicity after reduction to the tertiary amine. Duffel and Gillespie (90) demonstrated that horseradish peroxidase catalyzes the reduction of indicine IV-oxide to indicine in an anaerobic reaction requiring a reduced pyridine nucleotide (either NADH or NADPH) and a flavin coenzyme (FMN or FAD). Rat liver microsomes and the 100,000 x g supernatant fraction also catalyze the reduction of the IV-oxide, and cofactor requirements and inhibition characteristics with these enzyme systems are similar to those exhibited by horseradish peroxidase. Sodium azide inhibited the TV-oxide reduction reaction, while aminotriazole did not. With rat liver microsomes, IV-octylamine decreased... 

Figure 5.3 The flavin coenzymes FAD and FMN. Note that in contrast to NAD+, flavins can be half-reduced to the stable radical FADH or fully reduced to the dihydroflavin shown.

Flavin Coenzymes.—5-Deazaflavin-adenine dinucleotide (2) can be prepared from the 5-deazaFMN,21 using a FAD pyrophosphorylase from rat liver.22 When the apoprotein of D-amino-acid oxidase from pig kidney is reconstituted with (2), no oxidation of D-alanine is observed, although the flavin chromophore in the reconstituted enzyme is reduced on the addition of DL-amino-acids.22 This has been interpreted as indicating that hydrogen transfer from the amino-acid to (2) can still... 

Examples of coenzymes vitamin-derived nucleotides for example adenosine phosphates ATP, ADP, AMP nicotinamide derivatives NAD+, NADH, NADP+, NADPH flavin derivatives FAD, FADH2 coenzyme A (abbreviated to CoA, CoASH or CoA-SH). 

The term NOS is used to denote a family of three related but distinct isoenzymes neuronal NOS (nNOS) endothelial NOS (eNOS, endothelium and platelets) and inducible NOS (iNOS, endothelium, vascular smooth muscle and macrophage). In addition to reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) shown in Figure 5.5, NOS enzymes also require flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) as coenzymes. 

We can only show here a few examples from the many organic redox systems that are found. In the complete reduction of the flavin coenzymes FMN and FAD (see p.l04),... 

Fig. 1. Energy metabolism in the normal myocardium (ATP adenosine-5 -triphosphate, ADP adenosine-5 -diphosphate, P phosphate, PDH pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, acetyl-CoA acetyl-coenzyme A, NADH and NAD" nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (reduced and oxidized), FADH2 and FAD flavin adenine dinucleotide (reduced and oxidized).

Table 3.1.1 Disorders of organic acid metabolism (in alphabetical order). This table does not include disorders with primary accumulation of amino acids, disorders of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, or primary lactic acidemias. Co A Coenzyme A, FAD flavin adenine dinucleotide...

Each of the forms of ETF isolated from the different sources contain FAD as coenzyme and form an anionic semiquinone on one-electron reduction. Stopped-flow kinetic studies on the pig liver ETF showed the anionic flavin semiquinone to be formed at times faster than catalytic turnover and thus demonstrate the participation of the anionic FAD semiquinone as an intermediate in the acceptance of reducing equivalents from the dehydrogenase. These studies would also imply the intermediacy of the semiquinone form of the acyl CoA dehydrogenase which would have been expected to form a neutral flavin semiquinone at the time the studies of Hall and Lambeth were performed, however, no spectral evidence for its formation were found. Recent studies have shown that the binding of CoA analogs to the dehydrogenase results in the perturbation of the pKa of the FAD semiquinone such that an anionic (red) rather than the neutral (blue) semiquinone is formed. This perturbation was estimated to reduce the pKa by at least 2.5 units to a value of... 

Why are there four major hydrogen transfer coenzymes, NAD+, NADP+, FAD, and riboflavin phosphate (FMN), instead of just one Part of the answer is that the reduced pyridine nucleotides NADPH and NADH are more powerful reducing agents than are reduced flavins (Table 6-7). Conversely, flavin coenzymes are more powerful oxidizing agents than are... 

Figure 15-7 The flavin coenzymes flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and riboflavin 5 -phosphate (FMN). Dotted lines enclose the region that is altered upon reduction.

The attention of biochemists was first attracted to flavins as a result of their color and fluorescence. The study of spectral properties of flavins (Fig. 15-8) has been of importance in understanding these coenzymes. The biochemical role of the flavin coenzymes was first recognized through studies of the "old yellow enzyme"144 145 which was shown by Theorell to contain riboflavin 5 -phosphate. By 1938, FAD was recognized as the coenzyme of a different yellow protein, D-amino acid oxidase of kidney tissue. Like the pyridine nucleotides, the new flavin coenzymes were reduced by dithionite to nearly colorless dihydro forms (Figs. 15-7 and 15-8) revealing the chemical basis for their function as hydrogen carriers. 

In the biological oxidation-reduction system, reduced NAD (i.e., NADH) is reoxidized to NAD by the riboflavin-containing coenzyme FAD flavin-adenine dinucleotide). 

Several of the B vitamins function as coenzymes or as precursors of coenzymes some of these have been mentioned previously. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) which, in conjunction with the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, oxidizes ethanol to ethanal (Section 15-6C), also is the oxidant in the citric acid cycle (Section 20-10B). The precursor to NAD is the B vitamin, niacin or nicotinic acid (Section 23-2). Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is a precursor of flavin adenine nucleotide FAD, a coenzyme in redox processes rather like NAD (Section 15-6C). Another example of a coenzyme is pyri-doxal (vitamin B6), mentioned in connection with the deamination and decarboxylation of amino acids (Section 25-5C). Yet another is coenzyme A (CoASH), which is essential for metabolism and biosynthesis (Sections 18-8F, 20-10B, and 30-5A). 

Structures of the vitamin riboflavin (a) and the derived flavin coenzymes (b). Like NAD+ and NADP+, the coenzyme pair FMN and FAD are functionally equivalent coenzymes, and the coenzyme involved with a given enzyme appears to be a matter of enzymatic binding specificity. The catalytically functional portion of the coenzymes is shown in red. 

The core set of reactions of the pathway oxidize glucose 6-phosphate to ribose 5-phosphate and generate NADPH. Thus, as well as generating NADPH, the pathway has a second important role in converting hexoses into pentoses, in particular ribose 5-phosphate. Ribose 5-phosphate or derivatives of it are required for the synthesis of RNA, DNA, NAD+, flavine adenine dinucleotide (FAD), ATP, coenzyme A (CoA) and other important molecules. Thus the two main products of the pathway are NADPH and ribose 5-phosphate. 

Small amounts of amino acids are degraded by L- and D-amino acid oxidases that utilize flavin mononucleotide (FMN) or flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) as coenzyme, respectively. 

The functional end of the flavin coenzymes FMN and FAD is the tricyclic isoalloxazine system, with the numbering system shown in structure I, the air-stable, yellow, oxidized form. The other two functionally important redox states are the one-electron-reduced semiquinone, II (pKa = 8.4 for dissociation at N(5)), and the two-electron-reduced, colorless dihydroflavin, III. In the dihydro form N(5), C(4a), C(la), andN(l) form a diaminoethylene system and it was anticipated that nitrogen at the 5 and 1 positions would be key to coenzymatic function. 

Biological autofluorescence in mammalian cells due to flavin coenzymes (FAD and FMN absorption, 450 nm emission, 515 nm) and reduced pyridine nucleotides (NADH absorption, 340 nm emission, 460 nm) can be problematic in the detection of fluorescence probes in tissues and cells. Fixation with aldehydes, particularly glutaraldehyde, can result in high levels of autofluorescence. This can be minimized in fixed cells by washing with 0.1% sodium borohydride in phosphate-buffered saline (5) prior to antibody incubation. Problems due to autofluorescence can be minimized by selecting probes and optical filters that maximize the fluorescence signal relative to the autofluorescence. Other factors that limit IF include the performance of the detection instrument (i.e. how well the microscope has been calibrated and set), the specificity of the antibodies, and the specimen preparation. 

Figure 7.1. Riboflavin, the flavin coenzymes and covalently bound flavins in proteins. Relative molecular masses (Mr) riboflavin, 376.4 riboflavin phosphate, 456.6 and FAD, 785.6.

Apart from mUk and eggs, which contain relatively large amounts of free riboflavin bound to specific binding proteins, most of the vitamin in foods is as flavin coenzymes bound to enzymes, with about 60% to 90% as FAD. 

Tissue concentrations of flavin coenzymes in hypothyroid animals may be as low as in those fed a riboflavin-deficient diet, in hypothyroid patients, erythrocyte glutathione reductase (EGR) activity may be as low, and its activation by FAD added in vitro (Section 7.5.2) as high, as in riboflavin-deficient subjects. Tissue concentrations of flavin coenzymes and EGR are normalized by the administration of thyroid hormones, with no increase in riboflavin intake (Cimino et al., 1987). 

Hyperthyroidism is not associated with elevated tissue concentrations of flavin coenzymes, despite increased activity of flavokinase. Again, this demonstrates the importance of the enzyme binding of flavin coenzymes and the rapid hydrolysis of unbound FAD and riboflavin phosphate in the regulation of tissue concentrations of the vitamin. 

The majority of flavoproteins have FAD as the prosthetic group rather than riboflavin phosphate. Some have both flavin coenzymes, and some have other prosthetic groups. 

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