5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobiopterin

1 The Role of Tetrahydrobiopterin in Aromatic Amino Acid Hydroxyiases 

Most aromatic hydroxylases are either cytochrome- or flavin-dependent enzymes the three enzymes that catalyze hydroxylation of the aromatic amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan are apparently unique in 

The same pool of tetrahydrobiopterin and the same dihydrobiopterin reductase are involved in the central nervous system in the hydroxylation of all three aromatic amino acids. Classical phenylketonuria, which involves a defect 

---

The dopamine is then concentrated in storage vesicles via an ATP-dependent process. Here the rate-limiting step appears not to be precursor uptake, under normal conditions, but tyrosine hydroxylase activity. This is regulated by protein phosphorylation and by de novo enzyme synthesis. The enzyme requites oxygen, ferrous iron, and tetrahydrobiopterin (BH. The enzymatic conversion of the precursor to the active agent and its subsequent storage in a vesicle are energy-dependent processes. 

Fig. 2. Biosynthetic pathway for epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine. The enzymes cataly2ing the reaction are (1) tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), tetrahydrobiopterin and O2 are also involved (2) dopa decarboxylase (DDC) with pyridoxal phosphate (3) dopamine-P-oxidase (DBH) with ascorbate, O2 in the adrenal medulla, brain, and peripheral nerves and (4) phenethanolamine A/-methyltransferase (PNMT) with. Cadenosylmethionine in the adrenal...

Finally, a quinonoid 6,7,8-trihydropterin structure (49) absorbing at 303 nm plays an important role as a labile intermediate in the tetrahydrobiopterin-dependent enzymatic hydroxylation of phenylalanine <67JBC(242)3934). 

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydroxylation of tyrosine to 3,4-dihydroxypheny-lalanine in the brain and adrenal glands. TH is the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of dopamine. This non-heme iron-dependent monoxygenase requires the presence of the cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin to maintain the metal in its ferrous state. 

Circular Dichroism Measurements. The absolute configurations of the C6 chiral center in tetrahydrobiopterin cofactor and related compounds were determined by comparison of their circular dichroism (CD) spectra with those of... 

Tyrosine. Phenylalanine hydroxylase converts phenylalanine to tyrosine (Figure 28-10). Provided that the diet contains adequate nutritionally essential phenylalanine, tyrosine is nutritionally nonessential. But since the reaction is irreversible, dietary tyrosine cannot replace phenylalanine. Catalysis by this mixed-function oxygenase incorporates one atom of O2 into phenylalanine and reduces the other atom to water. Reducing power, provided as tetrahydrobiopterin, derives ultimately from NADPH. 

For the synthesis of drosopterin, tetrahydrobiopterin, sepiapterin, 7-oxopterin and isoxanthopterin, DHN-TP is first converted to the common intermediate 6-pyruvoyl-tetrahydropterin. The biosynthesis of pteridines was studied in zebrafish in relation with the differentiation of neural crest derivatives. The key intermediate in the synthesis of 7-oxobiopterin is the sepiapterin. Pteridins are produced in xanthophores and erythrophores of fish and amphibian species. 

Folic acid deficiency is also related to megaloblastic anemia. Tetrahydrobiopterin is a co-factor for phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophane hydroxilases — enzymes... 

Murata S, Ichinose H, Urano F (2007) Tetrahydrobiopterin and Related Biologically Important Pterins. 8 127-171... 

It has been shown that the activity of NO synthases is regulated by cofactors calcium binding protein calmodulin and tetrahydrobiopterin (H4B). Abu-Soud et al. [149] have studied the effect of H4B on the activity of neuronal nNOS I, using the isolated heme-containing oxygenase domain nNOSoxy. It was found that nNOSoxy rapidly formed an oxygenated complex in the reaction with dioxygen, which dissociated to produce superoxide (Reaction (6)) ... 

FIGURE 32-7 Sources of free radical formation which may contribute to injury during ischemia-reperfusion. Nitric oxide synthase, the mitochondrial electron-transport chain and metabolism of arachidonic acid are among the likely contributors. CaM, calcium/calmodulin FAD, flavin adenine dinucleotide FMN, flavin mononucleotide HtT, tetrahydrobiopterin HETES, hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids L, lipid alkoxyl radical LOO, lipid peroxyl radical NO, nitric oxide 0 "2, superoxide radical. 

FIGURE 40-2 The phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) pathway. Phenylketonuria usually is caused by a congenital deficiency of PAH (reaction 1), but it also can result from defects in the metabolism of biopterin, which is a cofactor for the hydroxylase. Enzymes (1) Phenylalanine hydroxylase (2) Dihydropteridine reductase (3) GTP cyclohydrolase (4) 6-pyruvoyltetrahydrobiopterin synthase. BH4, tetrahydrobiopterin DEDT, o-erythro-dihydroneopterin triphosphate QH2, dihydrobiopterin. 

Rarely, phenylketonuria results from a defect in the metabolism of biopterin, a cofactor for the phenylalanine hydroxylase pathway. The electron donor for phenylalanine hydroxylase is tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), which transfers electrons to molecular oxygen to form tyrosine and dihydrobiopterin (QH2 Fig. 40-2 reaction 2). BH4 is regenerated from QH2 in an NADH-dependent reaction that is catalyzed by dihydropteridine reductase (DHPR), which is widely distributed. In the brain, this... 

In rare instances, PKU is caused by defects in the metabolism of BH4, which is synthesized from GTP via sepiapterin (Fig. 40-2 reactions 3 and 4) [25]. Even careful phenylalanine restriction fails to avert progressive neurological deterioration because patients are unable to hydroxylate tyrosine or tryptophan, the synthesis of which also requires tetrahydrobiopterin. Thus, neurotransmitters are not produced in sufficient amount. 

Other causes of PKU secondary to defective tetrahydrobiopterin synthesis include GTP cyclohydrolase deficiency and 6-pyravoyltetrahydrobiopterin synthase deficiency. Patients with either defect have psychomotor retardation, truncal hypotonia with limb hypertonia, seizures and a tendency to hyperthermia. The intravenous administration of BH4 may lower blood phenylalanine levels but this cofactor may not readily cross the blood-brain barrier. Treatment with synthetic pterin analogs or supplementation with tryptophan and carbidopa may prove more efficacious, particularly if treatment is started early in life. 

Giovanelli, J., Campos, K. L., Kaufman, S., Tetrahydrobiopterin, a cofactor for rat cerebellar nitric oxide synthase, does not function as a reactant in the oxygenation of arginine, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88 (1991), p. 7091-7095... 

P. D., Loftus, M., Stuehr, D. J., Expression of human inducible nitric oxide synthase in a tetrahydrobiopterin (H4B)-deficient cell line H4B promotes assembly of enzyme subunits into an active dimmer, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92 (1995), p. 11771-11775... 

Bec, N., Gorren, A. C., Voelker, C., Mayer, B., Lange, R., Reaction of neuronal nitric-oxide synthase with oxygen at low temperature. Evidence for reductive activation of the oxy-ferrous complex by tetrahydrobiopterin, J. Biol. Chem. 273 (1998), p. 13502-13508... 

K., Wachter, H., Werner-Felmayer, G., Mayer, B., Identification of the 4-amino analogue of tetrahydrobiopterin as a dihydropteridine reductase inhibitor and a potent pteridine antagonist of rat neuronal nitric oxide synthase, Biochem. J. 320 (1996), p. 193-196... 

Rusche, K. M., Spiering, M. M., Marletta, M. A., Reactions catalyzed by tetrahydrobiopterin-free nitric oxide synthase, Biochemistry VI (1998),... 

---