Leucine, and Valine

Humans have a limited capacity to synthesize amino acids de novo, but extensive interconversions can occur. Those amino acids which cannot be formed within the body and must be supplied by the diet are called essential . Members of this group, which includes the branched chain amino acids leucine and valine, and also methionine and phenylalanine, are all dietary requirements. Such essential amino acids may be chemically converted, mainly in the liver, into the non-essential amino acids. The term non-essential does not equate with not biochemically important but simply means they are not strict dietary components. 

Maple syrup urine disease (branched-chain ketoaciduria) <0.4 Isoleucine, leucine, and valine degradation Branched-chain a-keto acid dehydrogenase complex Vomiting convulsions mental retardation early death... 

The branched-chain amino acids (isoleucine, leucine, and valine), unlike the other amino acids, are degraded only in extrahepatic tissues. 

The branched-chain amino acids, isoleucine, leucine, and valine, are essential amino acids. In contrast to other amino acids, they are metabolized primarily by the peripheral tissues (particularly muscle), rather than by the liver. Because these three amino acids have a similar route of catabolism, it is convenient to describe them as a group (see Figure 20.10). 

Examples biosynthesis of leucine and valine, xylose isomerase, glyoxalase)... 

Reaction type 6C (Table 10-1) occurs during the biosynthesis of leucine and valine (Fig. 24-17). The rearrangement is often compared with the nonenzy-matic acid-catalyzed pinacol-pinacolone rearrangement in which a similar shift of an alkyl group takes place (Eq. 13-57). The enzyme-catalyzed rearrangement... 

B 10. In your biochemistry research project, you have isolated a new protein from spinach leaves. You wish to do a Western blot experiment with the protein to help determine its chemical structure and/or biological function. An amino acid analysis of the protein showed a great abundance of phenylalanine, leucine, and valine. What would be your choice of membrane for the blotting experiments ... 

Figure 3.3 Biosynthesis of 2-methylalkanes from leucine and valine carbon skeletons.

Haem is bound to proteins to make haemoglobin (in blood) and myoglobin (in muscle). The hydrophilic carboxy-late groups stick out into the surrounding medium, while the majority of the molecule is embedded in a hydrophobic cleft in the protein, lined with amino acids such a leucine and valine. The octahedral coordination sphere of the iron(II) is completed with a histidine residue from the protein and an oxygen molecule. 

The latter point to the natural occurrence of betaxanthins derived from a-ami-noadipic acid, asparagine, leucine, and valine. Some of these pigments were prepared from betalamic acid and the corresponding amino acids 71). 

Figure 33.25. Anchor Residues. (A) The amino acid sequences of three peptides that bind to the class I MHC protein HLA-A2 are shown. Each of these peptides has leucine in the second position and valine in the carboxyl-terminal position. (B) Comparison of the structures of these peptides reveals that the amino and carboxyl termini as well as the side chains of the leucine and valine residues are in essentially the same position in each peptide, whereas the remainder of the structures are quite different.

Propionyl-CoA carboxlase (methionine, leucine and valine metabolism) Biotin is found in numerous foods and also is synthesized by intestinal bacteria and as such deficiencies ofj he vitamin are rare. 

L-Phenylalanine,which is derived via the shikimic acid pathway,is an important precursor for aromatic aroma components. This amino acid can be transformed into phe-nylpyruvate by transamination and by subsequent decarboxylation to 2-phenylacetyl-CoA in an analogous reaction as discussed for leucine and valine. 2-Phenylacetyl-CoA is converted into esters of a variety of alcohols or reduced to 2-phenylethanol and transformed into 2-phenyl-ethyl esters. The end products of phenylalanine catabolism are fumaric acid and acetoacetate which are further metabolized by the TCA-cycle. Phenylalanine ammonia lyase converts the amino acid into cinnamic acid, the key intermediate of phenylpropanoid metabolism. By a series of enzymes (cinnamate-4-hydroxylase, p-coumarate 3-hydroxylase, catechol O-methyltransferase and ferulate 5-hydroxylase) cinnamic acid is transformed into p-couma-ric-, caffeic-, ferulic-, 5-hydroxyferulic- and sinapic acids,which act as precursors for flavor components and are important intermediates in the biosynthesis of fla-vonoides, lignins, etc. Reduction of cinnamic acids to aldehydes and alcohols by cinnamoyl-CoA NADPH-oxido-reductase and cinnamoyl-alcohol-dehydrogenase form important flavor compounds such as cinnamic aldehyde, cin-namyl alcohol and esters. Further reduction of cinnamyl alcohols lead to propenyl- and allylphenols such as... 

The protein is completely hydrolyzed by acid (6 N HCl, 24 hours or longer at 110°C, under vacuum or inert gas) to its constituent amino acids and the resultant hydrolysate is evaporated to dryness. The amino acid composition is determined on protein hydrolysates obtained after 24,48, and 72 hours of acid treatment. The content of amino acids with bulky aliphatic side chains such as isoleucine, leucine, and valine, which undergo slow hydrolysis, is calculated from an extrapolation of the hydrolysate data to infinite time. The content of hydroxyl-containing amino acids, which are slowly destroyed during hydrolysis, is obtained by a corresponding extrapolation to zero time. Since cysteine, cystine, and methionine residues are somewhat unstable to hydrolysis, these residues are oxidized to cysteic acid and methionine sulfone, respectively, with performic acid before quantitative analysis. Cysteine, or half-cystine, is quantitated as a derivative such as carboxymethyl cysteine after reduction and alkylation, a necessary prerequisite to subsequent sequence analysis. Tryptophan... 

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