Methyl groups metabolism

A certain amount of evidence shows that methyl group metabolism may be affected as a result of auxin treatment—generally increased pectin-methyl esterification is observed (7). Though pectin-methyl esterification may be correlated with increased wall plasticity, there are as yet no obvious connections between general methyl group availability on the one hand and permeability, peroxidation, and mitosis on the other. 

Choline is one of a few B Vitamins that participate in methyl group metabolism. Methyl groups (CHs) are components of numerous important biological compounds. 

Snoswell, A.M. and G.-P. Xue, 1987. Methyl group metabolism in sheep. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 88B, 383-394. 

Xue, G.-P. and A.M. Snoswell, 1985. Regulation of methyl group metabolism in lactating ewes. Biochem. Intemat. 11,381-385. 

In man, the metabolic pathways of mepirizole were distinct from those in experimental animals, since hydroxylation on each of the aromatic rings did not occur in man. Compound (752) was obtained by oxidation of the 3-methyl group to the carboxylic acid (a similar process occurs with 5-methylpyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, an active metabolite of 3,5-dimethylpyrazole). However, the carboxylic acid metabolite of mepirizole had no analgesic activity and did not decrease blood glucose. 

MAO converts dopamine to DOPAC (3,4-dihydrox-yphenylacetic acid), which can be further metabolized by COMT to form homovanillic acid (HVA). HVA is the main product of dopamine metabolism and the principal dopamine metabolite in urine. Increased neuronal dopaminergic activity is associated with increases in plasma concentrations of DOPAC and HVA. COMT preferentially methylates dopamine at the 3 -hydroxyl position and utilizes S-adenosyl-L-methio-nine as a methyl group donor. COMT is expressed widely in the periphery and in glial cells. In PD, COMT has been targeted since it can convert l-DOPA to inactive 3-OMD (3-O-methyl-dopa). In the presence of an AADC inhibitor such as carbidopa, 3-OMD is the major metabolite of l-DOPA treatment. 

Acolbifene is also metabolized to a QM (Scheme 10.10)64 formed by oxidation at the C-17 methyl group. This QM is considerably more reactive compared to the tamoxifen quinone methide, which indicates that the acolbifene quinone methide is an electrophile of intermediate stability (Table 10.2). In addition, the acolbifene QM was determined to react with deoxynucleosides, with one of the major adducts resulting from reaction with the exocyclic amino group of adenine.64... 

Mizutani, T. Yamamoto, K. Tajima, K. Isotope effects on the metabolism and pulmonary toxicity of butylated hydroxytoluene in mice by deuteration of the 4-methyl group. Toxicol. Appl. Pharm. 1983, 69, 283-290. 

The proposed pathways for methyl-substituted quinolines differ from those shown in Fig. 23, even for the same culture, and most particularly, the fact that no C—N bond cleavage has been observed in most of the strains. A limited number of methylquinolines can be hydroxylated due to the inhibiting and blocking effect of the methyl group, particularly at position 2. So, neither P. aeruginosa QP nor P. putida QP could metabolize 2-methylquinoline however, a new strain of Pseudomonas (MQP) isolated by Grant and Al-Najjar [328] was reported to be able to transform 2-methylquinoline, yielding... 

The presence of a methyl group at the C-12 position of BA is apparently the major contributing factor determining the formation of a 5R,6S-epoxide in the metabolism of 12-methyl-BA and DMBA. 

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