Pantothenic acid metabolism

Bennett, T. P., and Trager, W. (1967). Pantothenic acid metabolism during avian malaria infection Pantothenate kinase activity in duck erythrocytes and in Plasmodium lophurae. ]. Protozool. 14, 214-216. 

Certain amino acids and their derivatives, although not found in proteins, nonetheless are biochemically important. A few of the more notable examples are shown in Figure 4.5. y-Aminobutyric acid, or GABA, is produced by the decarboxylation of glutamic acid and is a potent neurotransmitter. Histamine, which is synthesized by decarboxylation of histidine, and serotonin, which is derived from tryptophan, similarly function as neurotransmitters and regulators. /3-Alanine is found in nature in the peptides carnosine and anserine and is a component of pantothenic acid (a vitamin), which is a part of coenzyme A. Epinephrine (also known as adrenaline), derived from tyrosine, is an important hormone. Penicillamine is a constituent of the penicillin antibiotics. Ornithine, betaine, homocysteine, and homoserine are important metabolic intermediates. Citrulline is the immediate precursor of arginine. 

The 4-phosphopantetheine group of CoA is also utilized (for essentially the same purposes) in acyl carrier proteins (ACPs) involved in fatty acid biosynthesis (see Chapter 25). In acyl carrier proteins, the 4-phosphopantetheine is covalently linked to a serine hydroxyl group. Pantothenic acid is an essential factor for the metabolism of fat, protein, and carbohydrates in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and other pathways. In view of its universal importance in metabolism, it is surprising that pantothenic acid deficiencies are not a more serious problem in humans, but this vitamin is abundant in almost all foods, so that deficiencies are rarely observed. 

Panthenol is the alcohol form of pantothenic acid, more familiar as vitamin B5. In a living cell, panthenol is converted to pantothenic acid, which then becomes an important part of the compound coenzyme A, which is important in cellular metabolism. In hair, which contains no living cells, it remains panthenol. 

Some sprays include vitamins such as tocopherols (vitamin E) or panthenol, which is metabolized in the skin to become pantothenic acid, a B vitamin. Since hair does not metabolize ( It s dead, Jim ), these sprays perform the functions of antioxidants (tocopherols). In other words, they add shine and moisture (panthenol) rather than perform their normal vitamin roles. Moisture helps prevent damage during combing. 

NAD and NADP and FMN and FAD, respectively. Pantothenic acid is a component of the acyl group carrier coenzyme A. As its pyrophosphate, thiamin participates in decarboxylation of a-keto acids and folic acid and cobamide coenzymes function in one-carbon metabolism. 

Pantothenic acid Functional part of CoA and acyl carrier protein fatty acid synthesis and metabolism ... 

Pantothenic acid has a central role in acyl group metabolism when acting as the pantetheine functional moiety of coenzyme A or acyl carrier protein (ACP) (Figure 45-18). The pantetheine moiety is formed after combination of pantothenate with cysteine, which provides... 

Pantothenic acid is present in coenzyme A and acyl carrier protein, which act as carriers for acyl groups in metabolic reactions. Pyridoxine, as pyridoxal phosphate, is the coenzyme for several enzymes of amino acid metabolism, including the aminotransferases, and of glycogen phosphorylase. Biotin is the coenzyme for several carboxylase enzymes. 

Rice bran is the richest natural source of B-complex vitamins. Considerable amounts of thiamin (Bl), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5) and pyridoxin (B6) are available in rice bran (Table 17.1). Thiamin (Bl) is central to carbohydrate metabolism and kreb s cycle function. Niacin (B3) also plays a key role in carbohydrate metabolism for the synthesis of GTF (Glucose Tolerance Factor). As a pre-cursor to NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-oxidized form), it is an important metabolite concerned with intracellular energy production. It prevents the depletion of NAD in the pancreatic beta cells. It also promotes healthy cholesterol levels not only by decreasing LDL-C but also by improving HDL-C. It is the safest nutritional approach to normalizing cholesterol levels. Pyridoxine (B6) helps to regulate blood glucose levels, prevents peripheral neuropathy in diabetics and improves the immune function. 

The water-soluble vitamins generally function as cofactors for metabolism enzymes such as those involved in the production of energy from carbohydrates and fats. Their members consist of vitamin C and vitamin B complex which include thiamine, riboflavin (vitamin B2), nicotinic acid, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, folic acid, cobalamin (vitamin B12), inositol, and biotin. A number of recent publications have demonstrated that vitamin carriers can transport various types of water-soluble vitamins, but the carrier-mediated systems seem negligible for the membrane transport of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E, and K. 

N4. Novelli, G. D., Metabolic functions of pantothenic acid. Physiol. Revs. 33, 525-543 (1953). 

Pantothenic acid and biotin were thus found to be growth factors for yeast. Like riboflavin these molecules are incorporated into larger molecules in order to exert their essential metabolic function. Unlike the other vitamins there has been no evidence of pathological signs in man which can be attributed to dietary deficiencies in biotin or pantothenic acid. 

Pantothenic acid CoA i Fatty acid synthase Fatty acyl CoA synthetase Pyruvate dehydrogenase ci-Ketoglutarate dehydrogenase Fatty acid metabolism PDH TCA cycle Rare... 

Once the human body has a supply of pantothenic acid, it can add the remaining parts to create the intact molecule. The business part of coenzyme A is a terminal sulfhydryl (—SH) group. It is here that acyl (e.g., the acetyl group, —COCH3) groups are attached in the process of acyl transfer reactions. There are a large number of such reactions in human metabolism and they are concerned with all aspects of... 

Pantothenic acid is a metabolic precursor to coenzyme A, which is involved in a very large number of reactions that occur in all phases of metabolism. 

Coenzyme A a derivative of pantothenic acid required for many reactions in human metabolism. 

Pantothenic acid Liver, meats, cereals, milk, egg yolk, vegetables Energy metabolism... 

This is a complex molecule, made up of an adenine nucleotide (ADP-3 -phosphate), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), and cysteamine (2-mercaptoethylamine), but for mechanism purposes can be thought of as a simple thiol, HSCoA. Pre-eminent amongst the biochemical thioesters is the thioester of acetic acid, acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA). This compound plays a key role in the biosynthesis and metabolism of fatty acids (see Sections 15.4 and 15.5), as well as being a building block for the biosynthesis of a wide range of natural products, such as phenols and macrolide antibiotics (see Box 10.4). 

Another acid amide bond (-CO-NH-) creates the compound for the next constituent, pantoinate. This compound contains a chiral center and can therefore appear in two enantiomeric forms (see p.8). In natural coenzyme A, only one of the two forms is found, the (R)-pantoinate. Human metabolism is not capable of producing pantoinate itself, and it therefore has to take up a compound of (1-alanine and pantoinate— pantothenate ( pantothenic acid )—in the form of a vitamin in food (see p.366). 

Acyl residues are usually activated by transfer to coenzyme A (2). In coenzyme A (see p. 12), pantetheine is linked to 3 -phos-pho-ADP by a phosphoric acid anhydride bond. Pantetheine consists of three components connected by amide bonds—pantoic acid, alanine, and cysteamine. The latter two components are biogenic amines formed by the decarboxylation of aspartate and cysteine, respectively. The compound formed from pantoic acid and p-alanine (pantothenic acid) has vitamin-like characteristics for humans (see p. 368). Reactions between the thiol group of the cysteamine residue and carboxylic acids give rise to thioesters, such as acetyl CoA. This reaction is strongly endergonic, and it is therefore coupled to exergonic processes. Thioesters represent the activated form of carboxylic adds, because acyl residues of this type have a high chemical potential and are easily transferred to other molecules. This property is often exploited in metabolism. 

Pantothenic acid is an acid amide consisting of p-alanine and 2,4-dihydroxy-3,3 -di-methylbutyrate (pantoic acid). It is a precursor of coenzyme A, which is required for activation of acyl residues in the lipid metabolism (see pp. 12,106). Acyl carrier protein (ACP see p.l68) also contains pantothenic acid as part of its prosthetic group. Due to the widespread availability of pantothenic acid in food (Greek pantothen = from everywhere ), deficiency diseases are rare. 

Metabolic derivatives of pantothenic acid are of fundamental importance in acyl transfer reactions and in condensation reactions requiring an acidic a-proton. The... 

The synthetic form is the alcohol, panthenol, which can be oxidized in vivo to pantothenic acid. It is included in the list of substances that may be added in foods and in food supplements [403], Pantothenic acid is part of the coenzyme A (CoA) molecule therefore it is involved in acylation reactions, such as in fatty acid and carbohydrate metabolism. 

Coenzyme A Loose Pantothenic acid (B5) Esterified to organic acids in many steps of fatty acid and carbohydrate metabolism... 

Vitamins are chemically unrelated organic compounds that cannot be synthesized by humans and, therefore, must must be supplied by the diet. Nine vitamins (folic acid, cobalamin, ascorbic acid, pyridoxine, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, biotin, and pantothenic acid) are classified as water-soluble, whereas four vitamins (vitamins A, D, K, and E) are termed fat-soluble (Figure 28.1). Vitamins are required to perform specific cellular functions, for example, many of the water-soluble vitamins are precursors of coenzymes for the enzymes of intermediary metabolism. In contrast to the water-soluble vitamins, only one fat soluble vitamin (vitamin K) has a coenzyme function. These vitamins are released, absorbed, and transported with the fat of the diet. They are not readily excreted in the urine, and significant quantities are stored in Die liver and adipose tissue. In fact, consumption of vitamins A and D in exoess of the recommended dietary allowances can lead to accumulation of toxic quantities of these compounds. 

Vitamins and Minerals. Milk is a rich source of vitamins and other organic substances that stimulate microbial growth. Niacin, biotin, and pantothenic acid are required for growth by lactic streptococci (Reiter and Oram 1962). Thus the presence of an ample quantity of B-complex vitamins makes milk an excellent growth medium for these and other lactic acid bacteria. Milk is also a good source of orotic acid, a metabolic precursor of the pyrimidines required for nucleic acid synthesis. Fermentation can either increase or decrease the vitamin content of milk products (Deeth and Tamime 1981 Reddy et al. 1976). The folic acid and vitamin Bi2 content of cultured milk depends on the species and strain of culture used and the incubation conditions (Rao et al. 1984). When mixed cultures are used, excretion of B-complex vita-... 

Pantothenic acid participates as part of coenzvme A in carbohydrate metabolism (2-carbon transfer-acetate, or pyruvate), lipid metabolism (biosynthesis and catabolism of fatty acids, sterols, +phospholipids), protein metabolism (acetylations of amines and amino acids), porphyrin metabolism, acetylcholine production, isoprene production. 

The most abundant amino acids are those that are protein constituents and these are always a-amino acids. However, there are many other amino acids that occur naturally in living systems that are not constituents of proteins, and are not a-amino acids. Many of these are rare, but others are common and play important roles in cellular metabolism. For example, 3-aminopropanoic acid is a precursor in the biosynthesis of the vitamin, pantothenic acid,2... 

The coenzymes, CoA, acyl-coenzyme A, and ACP, are the biologically active forms of pantothenic acid (185,186). Recent reviews of the absorption and metabolism of pantothenate are available (185,186). 

As a pantothenic acid analogue, hopantenate can affect lactate generation, glucose metabolism, and ammonia disposal, and there have been two fatal cases in elderly people who developed disturbances of consciousness with lactic acidosis, hypoglycemia, and hyperammonemia (903). 

Pantothenic acid Men women 5 mg/d Coenzyme in fatty acid metabolism No adverse effects have been reported ... 

Panthenol is absorbed via passive diffusion after topical or oral application and then enzymatically oxidized to pantothenic acid. This is a component of coenzyme A and acyl carrier protein, and as such of great importance in fatty acid, carbohydrate, and amino acid metabolism. Deficiency leads to uncharacteristic symptoms such as headaches, apathy, gastrointestinal disturbances, palpitations, and paraesthesia typically in the feet, also known as burning feet syndrome. Wound healing is impaired. The recommended daily allowance is 5 to 7 mg.112... 

The uptake and accumulation of various amino acids in Lactobacillus arabinosus have been described. Deficiencies of vitamin B6, biotin, and pantothenic acid markedly alter the operation of these transport systems. Accumulation capacity is decreased most severely by a vitamin B6 deficiency. This effect appears to arise indirectly from the synthesis of abnormal cell wall which renders the transport systems unusually sensitive to osmotic factors. Kinetic and osmotic experiments also exclude biotin and pantothenate from direct catalytic involvement in the transport process. Like vitamin B6, they affect uptake indirectly, probably through the metabolism of a structural cell component. The evidence presented supports a concept of pool formation in which free amino acids accumulate in the cell through the intervention of membrane-localized transport catalysts. 

It is apparent that at this stage of development definitive conclusions are premature, and that this aspect of amino acid and lipide metabolism will be pursued vigorously in the near future. It is of considerable interest to us that biotin and pantothenic acid deficiencies affect amino acid transport in L. arabinosus, since both vitamins are known to play a prominent role in lipide biosynthesis. We are currently reexamining the turnover of lipide fractions in nutritionally normal and vitamin-deficient cell types to determine whether there is some relation between this aspect of metabolism and amino acid transport. In any case, the nature of the catalytic steps involved in amino acid transport is still unknown to us. They probably occur in the peripheral cell membrane, but even this elementary and widely accepted belief will require additional study before it can be accepted beyond doubt as an established fact. 

---