Pterin metabolism

The microsomal hydroxylase was prepared from male rates. Hepatic microsomes were isolated by treatment of a post mitochondrial fraction with polyethylene glycol 6000. 

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Over the last 20 years, the majority of Hyde and Sims studies have focused on folate biosynthesis in some way or another they have cloned and reported the sequence of all but one (DHNA) of the genes originally believed to make up the parasite s endogenous biosynthesis pathway, showed that the parasite can and does utilize exogenous (host-derived) folate thus posing additional questions about why and how anti-folates are successful in the treatment of malaria, and demonstrated the existence of a previously unrecognized gene likely to be involved in pterin metabolism that may provide an... 

In the first family, the metal is coordinated by one molecule of the pterin cofactor, while in the second, it is coordinated to two pterin molecules (both in the guanine dinucleotide form, with the two dinucleotides extending from the active site in opposite directions). Some enzymes also contain FejSj clusters (one or more), which do not seem to be directly linked to the Mo centers. The molybdenum hydroxylases invariably possess redox-active sites in addition to the molybdenum center and are found with two basic types of polypeptide architecture. The enzymes metabolizing quinoline-related compounds, and derivatives of nicotinic acid form a separate groups, in which each of the redox active centers are found in separate subunits. Those enzymes possessing flavin subunits are organized as a2jS2A2, with a pair of 2Fe-2S centers in the (3 subunit, the flavin in the (3 subunit, and the molybdenum in the y subunit. 

In summary, we may add that bacterial utilization of quinoline and its derivatives as a rule depends on the availability of traces of molybdate in the culture medium [363], In contrast, growth of the bacterial strains on the first intermediate of each catabolic pathway, namely, the lH-2-oxo or 1 II-4-oxo derivatives of the quinoline compound was not affected by the availability of molybdate. This observation indicated a possible role of the trace element molybdenum in the initial hydroxylation at C2. In enzymes, Mo occurs as part of the redox-active co-factor, and all the Mo-enzymes involved in N-heteroatomic compound metabolism, contain a pterin Mo co-factor. The catalyzed reaction involves the transfer of an oxygen atom to or from a substrate molecule in a two-electron redox reaction. The oxygen is supplied by the aqueous solvent. Certainly, the Mo-enzymes play an important role in the initial steps of N-containing heterocycles degradation. 

H20. Hutner, S. H., Nathan, H. A., and Baker, H., Metabolism of folic acid and other pterin-pteridine vitamins. Vitamins and Hormones 17, 1-52 (1959). 

An intriguing puzzle in NOS catalysis is the precise role of H4B. The traditional function of H4B is in aromatic amino acid metabolism where H4B directly participates in the hydroxylation reaction via a nonheme iron. However, the NOS pterin site has no similarity to the pterin site in the hydroxylases, nor does NOS have a nonheme iron to assist pterin in substrate hydroxylation as in the amino acid hydroxylases 111). NOS more closely resembles pterin-containing enz5unes that have a redox function 81). In particular, N3 and the 03 amino group form H-bonds with either GIu or Asp residues in a series of pterin enzymes 112-116) similar to NOS, except that NOS utilizes the heme propionate (Fig. 6). 

Successful fusion (2) is a rare event, but the frequency can be improved by adding polyethylene glycol (PEG). To obtain only successfully fused cells, incubation is required for an extended period in a primary culture with HAT medium (3), which contains hypoxan-thine, aminopterin, and thymidine. Amino-pterin, an analogue of dihydrofolic acid, competitively inhibits dihydrofolate reductase and thus inhibits the synthesis of dTMP (see p. 402). As dTMP is essential for DNA synthesis, myeloma cells cannot survive in the presence of aminopterin. Although spleen cells are able to circumvent the inhibitory effect of aminopterin by using hypoxanthine and thymidine, they have a limited lifespan and die. Only hybridomas survive culture in HAT medium, because they possess both the immortality of the myeloma cells and the spleen cells metabolic side pathway. 

The aromatic amino add hydroxylases (AAHs) are a family of pterin-dependent enzymes comprising phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH, with two gene products TPH1 and TPH2). The AAHs perform the hydroxylation of aromatic amino adds and play an important role in mammalian metabolism and in the biosynthesis of... 

In man, BH4 is degraded either nonenzymatically by side-chain cleavage to pterin or is enzymatically metabolized in the gastrointestinal tract to become a lumazine [2]. Pterin and dihydropterin are converted by xanthine dehydrogenase to isoxanthopterin and xanthopterin, respectively [3,4]. It is assumed, however, that most of the ingested BH4 is used as a cofactor (mainly for PAH in the liver) and is catabolized to nonfluorescing compounds it may even be degraded to C02 and ammonia. 

Figure 6.1.7 b-f shows chromatograms of pterins in urine from patients with different enzyme defects of BH4 metabolism, and Fig. 6.1.7 h-k chromatograms of pterins in dried blood. The pattern of pterins in plasma, dried blood, and CSF is similar to that in urine in patients with BH4 deficiency. Only urine and dried blood spots are suitable for screening. For more details see Blau et al. [13]. 

Whenever a CSF profile is suggestive of a disruption of dopamine and/or serotonin metabolism, analysis of the pterin profile is extremely important in order to ascertain whether disruption of biogenic amine metabolism is directly related to alteration in BH4 availability. 

In the pineal gland, as well as in the retina of the eye, light-sensitive pterins may be photochemically cleaved to generate such products as 6-fontiylpterin, a compound that could serve as a metabolic regulator.346 Another pterin acts as a chemical attractant for aggregation of the ameboid cells of Dictyostelium lacteumM7(Box 11-C). Molybdopterin (Fig. 15-17) is a component of several... 

The hereditary absence of phenylalanine hydroxylase, which is found principally in the liver, is the cause of the biochemical defect phenylketonuria (Chapter 25, Section B).430 4308 Especially important in the metabolism of the brain are tyrosine hydroxylase, which converts tyrosine to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, the rate-limiting step in biosynthesis of the catecholamines (Chapter 25), and tryptophan hydroxylase, which catalyzes formation of 5-hydroxytryptophan, the first step in synthesis of the neurotransmitter 5-hydroxytryptamine (Chapter 25). All three of the pterin-dependent hydroxylases are under complex regulatory control.431 432 For example, tyrosine hydroxylase is acted on by at least four kinases with phosphorylation occurring at several sites.431 433 4338 The kinases are responsive to nerve growth factor and epidermal growth factor,434 cAMP,435 Ca2+ + calmodulin, and Ca2+ + phospholipid (protein kinase C).436 The hydroxylase is inhibited by its endproducts, the catecholamines,435 and its activity is also affected by the availability of tetrahydrobiopterin.436... 

The fifth chapter, Tetrahydrobiopterin and Related Biologically Important Pterins by Shizuaki Murata, Hiroshi Ichinose and Fumi Urano, describes a modern aspect of pteridine chemistry and biochemistry. Pteridine derivatives play a very important role in the biosynthesis of amino acids, nucleic acids, neurotransmitters and nitrogenmonooxides, and metabolism of purine and aromatic amino acids. Some pteridines are used in chemotherapy and for the diagnosis of various diseases. From these points of view, this article will attract considerable attention from medicinal and pharmaceutical chemists, and also heterocyclic chemists and biochemists. 

The evidence for a pterin-substituted 1,2-enedithiolate was first reported by Raja-gopalan, Johnson, and coworkers, who isolated pterins from the oxidative decomposition of molybdenum-bound MPT, Figure 4 [7,49,55,56], In complementary work, Taylor and coworkers confirmed the structure of several of the pterin decomposition products by direct synthesis (see Section V. A) [30,57-59], Urothi-one, first isolated in 1940 from human urine [60], was shown to be a metabolic degradation product of MPT [37], Other isolated pterin-containing decomposition and/or derivatized products from molybdenum enzymes include Form A, Form B (a urothione-like product), and camMPT (Figure 4) [7], Two other pterins, Form Z and the MPT precursor, can be obtained from molybdenum deprived organisms, N. crassa Nit-1, and oxidase-deficient children, neither of which pro-... 

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