Thyroxine hydroxylase

Tyrosine is a precursor of thyroid hormones as well as L-dopa. Both thyroxine and L-dopa are employed in clinical medicine thyroxine to treat hypothyroid patients and L-dopa to treat patients with Parkinsonism. L-dopa is also the precursor to the pigment of the skin known as melanin. The enzyme that catalyzes the transformation of tyrosine into L-dopa, tyrosine hydroxylase, also catalyzes the transformation of L-dopa into melanin. Albinism is a genetic disease in which a mutation in the gene encoding tyrosine hydroxylase results in an inactive enzyme. People with albinism have no pigment in their skin, hair, or retina. 

In the series of cyclopropane amino acids, compounds 651,652 and 653 have also been studied. The cyclopropyl analogs 651 and 652 showed distinctly lower activity than the corresponding amino acids histidine and thyroxine Compounds 653 were tested for their behavior towards several hydroxylase, aminotransferase and decarboxylase enzyme systems The cis isomer had no inhibitory effect . 

The mechanism of action of o-thyroxine appears to be stimulation of oxidative cataboli.sm of cholesterol in the liver through stimulation of 7-a-cholcstcrol hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids. The bile acids arc conjugated with glycine or taurine and excreted by the biliary route into the feces. Although thyroxine docs not inhibit cholesterol bio.synthesis. it increases the number of LDL receptors, enhancing removal of LDL from plasma. 

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism by which the body is unable to convert surplus phenylalanine (PA) to tyrosine for use in the biosynthesis of, for example, thyroxine, adrenaline and noradrenaline. This results from a deficiency in the liver enzyme phenylalanine 4-mono-oxygenase (phenylalanine hydroxylase). A secondary metabolic pathway comes into play in which there is a transamination reaction between PA and a-keto-glutaric acid to produce phenylpyruvic acid (PPVA), a ketone and glutamic acid. Overall, PKU may be defined as a genetic defect in PA metabolism such that there are elevated levels of both PA and PPVA in blood and excessive excretion of PPVA (Fig. 25.7). 

Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid. Tyrosine is synthesized by hydroxylation of phenylalanine and therefore is not essential. However, if the hydroxylase system is deficient or absent, the tyrosine requirement must be met from the diet. These amino acids are involved in synthesis of a variety of important compounds, including thyroxine, melanin, norepinephrine, and epinephrine... 

The answer is e. (Murray, pp 307-346. Scriver, pp 1667—1724. Sack, pp 121-138. Wilson, pp 287—3177) In humans, tyrosine can be formed by the hydroxylation of phenylalanine. This reaction is catalyzed by the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase. A deficiency of phenylalanine hydroxylase results in the disease called phenylketonuria [PKU(261600)]. In this disease it is usually the accumulation of phenylalanine and its metabolites rather than the lack of tyrosine that is the cause of the severe mental retardation ultimately seen. Once formed, tyrosine is the precursor of many important signal molecules. Catalyzed by tyrosine hydroxylase, tyrosine is hydroxylated to form L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (dopa), which in turn is decarboxylated to form dopamine in the presence of dopa decarboxylase. Then, norepinephrine and finally epinephrine are formed from dopamine. All of these are signal molecules to some degree. Dopa and inhibitors of dopa decarboxylase are used in the treatment of Parkinson s disease, a neurologic disorder. Norepinephrine is a transmitter at smooth-muscle junctions innervated by sympathetic nerve libers. Epinephrine and dopamine are catecholamine transmitters synthesized in sympathetic nerve terminals and in the adrenal gland. Tyrosine is also the precursor of thyroxine, the major thyroid hormone, and melanin, a skin pigment. 

Waxman, D.J, P.A. Ram, G. Notani, G.A. LeBlanc, J.A. Alberta, J.J Morrissey et al. (1990). Pituitary regulation of the male-specific steroid 6 beta-hydroxylase P-450 2a (gene product I1IA2) in adult rat liver. Suppressive influence of growth hormone and thyroxine acting at a pretranslational level. Mol. Endocrinol. 4, 447—454. 

In the apparently major pathway for the conversion of cholesterol into 5 -cholestane-3a,7a,12a-triol, the step following the formation of 7a-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one is a 12a-hydroxylation yielding 7a,12a-dihydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (Fig. 1). The reaction is catalyzed by the microsomal fraction fortified with NADPH (15,37). The conversion of 5-cholestene-3, 7a-diol into 5-cholestene-3/5,7a,12a-triol, which is a reaction in another pathway for the formation of 5/5-cholestane-3a,7a,12a-triol, is also catalyzed by the microsomal fraction fortified with NADPH (30,37), as is the 12a-hydroxylation of 5/5-cholestane-3a,7a-diol and 7a-hydroxy-5)5-cholestan-3-one (37). The rates of 12a-hydroxylation of these C27-steroids differ considerably the rate with 5-cholestene-3/5,7a-diol is about one-tenth and with 5 -cholestane-3a,7a-diol about half of that with 7a-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (37). Einarsson (37) and Suzuki et al. (38) have studied some properties of the 12a-hydroxylase system with special reference to the possible participation of electron carriers such as NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and cytochrome P-450. The 12a-hydroxylation of 7a-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one was inhibited by cytochrome c, indicating that NADPH-cytochrome c reductase might be involved. However, no direct evidence for the participation of flavins was obtained. If NADPH-cytochrome c reductase participates, it is not rate-limiting, since the activity of this enzyme increases upon treatment with thyroxine whereas the activity of the 12a-hydroxylase decreases (39). Suzuki et al. (38) found no inhibition of 12a-hydroxylation by carbon monoxide, whereas Einarsson (37) obtained some inhibition. The 12a-hydroxylase activity was unaffected by methylcholanthrene treatment (40) and lowered by phenobarbital treatment (37,38). These observations indicate that the cytochrome(s) P-450 induced by methylcholanthrene and... 

L-Phenylalanine, Phe L-a-amino-P-phenylpropio-nic acid, an aromatic proteogenic amino acid, Af, 165.2. Phe is essential in the animal diet, and it is both glucogenic and ketogenic The first stage in the catabolism of Phe is hydroxylation to L-tyrosine, which is the precursor of Melanin (see), the neurotransmitter Dopamine (see), the hormones Adrenalin, Noradrenalin and Thyroxin (see separate entries), and other compounds. Tliis first step is catalysed by Phe hydroxylase (a monooxygenase), EC 1.14.16.1. Excess L-tyrosine is broken down to fumarate and acetoacetate (Fig. 1). 

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