Methylmalonyl pathway

Thymine undergoes degradation in a pathway analogous to that of Eq. 25-18, but with the formation of 3-aminoisobutyrate. The latter can be oxidatively converted to methylmalonate (Eq. 25-19), which can enter the methylmalonyl pathways (Fig. 17-3). 

Methylmalonyl pathway in P. Shermanii rapidly equilibrates [3- C] propionate into [2,3- propionate and [2,2 -... 

Fatty acids with odd numbers of carbon atoms are rare in mammals, but fairly common in plants and marine organisms. Humans and animals whose diets include these food sources metabolize odd-carbon fatty acids via the /3-oxida-tion pathway. The final product of /3-oxidation in this case is the 3-carbon pro-pionyl-CoA instead of acetyl-CoA. Three specialized enzymes then carry out the reactions that convert propionyl-CoA to succinyl-CoA, a TCA cycle intermediate. (Because propionyl-CoA is a degradation product of methionine, valine, and isoleucine, this sequence of reactions is also important in amino acid catabolism, as we shall see in Chapter 26.) The pathway involves an initial carboxylation at the a-carbon of propionyl-CoA to produce D-methylmalonyl-CoA (Figure 24.19). The reaction is catalyzed by a biotin-dependent enzyme, propionyl-CoA carboxylase. The mechanism involves ATP-driven carboxylation of biotin at Nj, followed by nucleophilic attack by the a-carbanion of propi-onyl-CoA in a stereo-specific manner. 

Furthermore, via optimization of the medium composition and fermentation conditions, the maximum cell density was increased by twofold, yielding a final titer of 1.1 g L 1 of 6dEB [60]. In another approach, Murli et al. [61] evaluated the three pathways of (2,S )-methylmalonyl-CoA biosynthesis (1) Streptomyces coelicolor PCC, (2) Propionibacteria shermanii MCM/... 

A recent study has indicated that the skeletal rearrangement step in the B12-catalysed isomerization of methylmalonyl-CoA to succinyl-CoA occurs not by a radical pathway but by an anionic or organocobalt pathway. A computational study of the isomerization of allyl alcohol into homoallyl alcohol by lithium amide has pointed to a process proceeding via a transition state in which the proton is half transferred between carbon and nitrogen in a hetero-dimer. l,l-Dilithio-2,2-diphenylethene... 

Oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids requires two additional enzymes enoyl-CoA isomerase and 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase. Odd-number fatty acids are oxidized by the /3-oxidation pathway to yield acetyl-CoA and a molecule of propionyl-CoA This is carboxylated to methylmalonyl-CoA, which is isomerized to succinyl-CoA in a reaction catalyzed by methylmalonyl-CoA mutase, an enzyme requiring coenzyme B12. 

The propionyl-CoA derived from these three amino acids is converted to succinyl-CoA by a pathway described in Chapter 17 carboxylation to methylmalonyl-CoA, epimerization of the methylmalonyl-CoA, and conversion to succinyl-CoA by the coenzyme B independent methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (see Fig. 17-11). In the rare genetic disease known as methylmalonic acidemia, methylmalonyl-CoA mutase is lacking—with serious metabolic consequences (Table 18-2 Box 18-2). 

The pathways for degradation of pyrimidines generally lead to NH4 production and thus to urea synthesis. Thymine, for example, is degraded to methyl-malonylsemialdehyde (Fig. 22-46), an intermediate of valine catabolism. It is further degraded through propionyl-CoA and methylmalonyl-CoA to succinyl-CoA (see Fig. 18-27). 

On the other hand, the tacking on of an extra C02 and the use of ATP at the beginning suggests that the methylmalonyl-CoA pathway (Fig. 17-3) is a biosynthetic rather than a catabolic route (see Section H,4). The methyl-malonyl pathway provides a means for converting propionate to oxaloacetate, a transformation that is chemically difficult. 

A standard treatment is the administration of a large dose of propionate which is presumably effective because of the ease of its conversion to oxaloacetate via the methylmalonyl-CoA pathway. It is possible that this pathway was developed by animals as a means of capturing propionyl units, scanty though they may be, for conversion to oxaloacetate and use in biosynthesis. In ruminant animals, the pathway is especially important. Whereas we have 5.5 mM glucose in our blood, the cow has only half as much, and a substantial fraction of this glucose is derived, in the liver, from the propionate provided by rumen micro-... 

Fig. 20.1. Generalized scheme of the main pathways of aerobic and anaerobic carbohydrate degradation in parasitic flatworms. The aerobic pathway is indicated by open arrows, whereas the anaerobic pathway (malate dismutation) is indicated by solid arrows. Abbreviations AcCoA, acetyl-CoA ASCT, acetateisuccinate CoA-transferase C, cytochrome c CI-CIV, complexes I—IV of the respiratory chain CITR, citrate FRD, fumarate reductase FUM, fumarate MAL, malate Methylmal-CoA, methylmalonyl-CoA OXAC, oxaloacetate PEP, phosphoenolpyruvate PROP, propionate Prop-CoA, propionyl-CoA PYR, pyruvate RQ, rhodoquinone SDH, succinate dehydrogenase SUCC, succinate Succ CoA, succinyl CoA UQ, ubiquinone.

All parasitic flatworms capable of anaerobic metabolism favour malate as the primary mitochondrial substrate and the oxidative decarboxylations of first malate and then pyruvate generate intramitochondrial reducing power in the form of NADH (Fig. 20.1). In contrast, the pathways used to reoxidize intramitochondrial NADH are quite diverse and depend on the stage or species of parasite under examination, but in all cases, redox balance is maintained and electron-transport associated ATP is generated by the NADH-reduction of fumarate to succinate. In the cestode, hi. diminuta, succinate and acetate are the major end products of anaerobic malate dismutation and are excreted in the predicted 2 1 ratio. In the trematode F. hepatica, succinate is then further decarboxylated to propionate with an additional substrate level phosphorylation coupled to the decarboxylation of methylmalonyl CoA. F. hepatica forms primarily propionate and acetate as end products, again in a ratio of 2 1 to maintain redox balance. 

The pathway can be divided into two metabolic cycles (Figure 3.4). In the first cycle, acetyl-CoA is carboxylated to malonyl-CoA, which is subsequently reduced and converted into propionyl-CoA via 3-hydroxypropionate as a free intermediate. Propionyl-CoA is carboxylated to methylmalonyl-CoA, which is subsequently converted to succinyl-CoA the latter is then used to activate L-malate by succinyl-CoA L-malate coenzyme A transferase, which forms L-malyl-CoA and succinate. Succinate is oxidized to L-malate via conventional steps. L-Malyl-CoA, the second characteristic intermediate of this cycle, is cleaved by L-malyl-CoA/P-methylmalyl-CoA lyase, thus regenerating the starting molecule acetyl-CoA and releasing gly-oxylate as a first carbon-fixation product [27]. 

The product of acetyl-CoA carboxylase reaction, malonyl-CoA, is reduced via malonate semialdehyde to 3-hydroxypropionate, which is further reductively converted to propionyl-CoA. Propionyl-CoA is carboxylated to (S)-methylmalonyl-CoA by the same carboxylase. (S)-Methylmalonyl-CoA is isomerized to (R)-methylmal-onyl-CoA, followed by carbon rearrangement to succinyl-CoA by coenzyme B 12-dependent methylmalonyl-CoA mutase. Succinyl-CoA is further reduced to succinate semialdehyde and then to 4-hydroxybutyrate. The latter compound is converted into two acetyl-CoA molecules via 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydratase, a key enzyme of the pathway. 4-Hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydratase is a [4Fe-4S] cluster and FAD-containing enzyme that catalyzes the elimination of water from 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA by a ketyl radical mechanism to yield crotonyl-CoA [34]. Conversion of the latter into two molecules of acetyl-CoA proceeds via normal P-oxidation steps. Hence, the 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate cycle (as illustrated in Figure 3.5) can be divided into two parts. In the first part, acetyl-CoA and two bicarbonate molecules are transformed to succinyl-CoA, while in the second part succinyl-CoA is converted to two acetyl-CoA molecules. 

Like the related fatty acid synthases (FASs), polyketide synthases (PKSs) are multifunctional enzymes that catalyze the decarboxylative (Claisen) condensation of simple carboxylic acids, activated as their coenzyme A (CoA) thioesters. While FASs typically use acetyl-CoA as the starter unit and malonyl-CoA as the extender unit, PKSs often employ acetyl- or propionyl-CoA to initiate biosynthesis, and malonyl-, methylmalonyl-, and occasionally ethylmalonyl-CoA or pro-pylmalonyl-CoA as a source of chain-extension units. After each condensation, FASs catalyze the full reduction of the P-ketothioester to a methylene by way of ketoreduction, dehydration, and enoyl reduction (Fig. 3). In contrast, PKSs shortcut the FAS pathway in one of two ways (Fig. 4). The aromatic PKSs (Fig. 4a) leave the P-keto groups substantially intact to produce aromatic products, while the modular PKSs (Fig. 4b) catalyze a variable extent of reduction to yield the so-called complex polyketides. In the latter case, reduction may not occur, or there may be formation of a P-hydroxy, double-bond, or fully saturated methylene additionally, the outcome may vary between different cycles of chain extension (Fig. 4b). This inherent variability in keto reduction, the greater variety of... 

The methylmalonyl-CoA unit, which is the precursor to methyl-branched fatty acids and hydrocarbons, arises from the carbon skeletons of valine and isoleucine, but not succinate (Dillwith et al., 1982). Propionate is also a precursor to methylmalonyl-CoA, and in the course of these studies, a novel pathway for... 

Although the fatty acid oxidation scheme works neatly for even-numbered chain lengths, it can t work completely for fatty acids that contain an odd number of carbons. P-oxidation of these compounds leads to propionyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA, rather than to two acetyl-CoA at the final step. The propionyl-CoA is not a substrate for the TCA cycle or other simple pathways. Propionyl-CoA undergoes a carboxylation reaction to form methylmalonyl-CoA. This reaction requires biotin as a cofactor, and is similar to an essential step in fatty acid biosynthesis. Methylmalonyl-CoA is then isomerized by an epimerase and then by methylmalonyl-CoA mutase—an enzyme that uses Vitamin Bi2 as a cofactor—to form succinyl-CoA, which is a TCA-cycle intermediate. 

Vitamin B12 is essential for the methylmalonyl-CoAmutase reaction. Methylmalonyl-CoA mutase is required during the degradation of odd-chain fatty acids and of branched-chain amino acids. Odd-chained fatty acids lead to propionyl-CoA as the last step of P-oxida-tion. Methylmalonyl-CoA can be derived from propionyl-CoA by a carboxylase reaction similar to that of fatty acid biosynthesis. The cofactor for this carboxylation reaction is biotin, just as for acetyl-CoA carboxylase. The reaction of methylmalonyl-CoA mutase uses a free radical intermediate to insert the methyl group into the dicar-boxylic acid chain. The product is succinyl-CoA, a Krebs cycle intermediate. The catabolisms of branched-chain lipids and of the branched-chain amino acids also require the methylmalonyl-CoA mutase, because these pathways also generate propionyl-CoA. 

Although measurement of the concentration of vitamin B12 in serum is the most widely used test for the investigation of a possible deficiency, there are a number of other tests used to measure absorption, the integrity of the methylmalonyl metabolic pathway, and the presence of antibodies to intrinsic factor. These additional tests are also described in this section. 

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