Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a nucleotide that provides energy to drive and support many processes in living cells, such as muscle contraction, nerve impulse propagation, condensate dissolution, and chemical synthesis. Found in all known forms of life, ATP is often referred to as the "molecular unit of currency" of intracellular energy transfer. When consumed in metabolic processes, it converts either to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) or to adenosine monophosphate (AMP). Other processes regenerate ATP. It is also a precursor to DNA and RNA, and is used as a coenzyme. A human adult processes around 50 kg of ATP daily.
Enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. Almost all metabolic processes in the cell need enzyme catalysis in order to occur at rates fast enough to sustain life. Metabolic pathways depend upon enzymes to catalyze individual steps. The study of enzymes is called enzymology and the field of pseudoenzyme analysis recognizes that during evolution, some enzymes have lost the ability to carry out biological catalysis, which is often reflected in their amino acid sequences and unusual 'pseudocatalytic' properties.
In organic chemistry, a peptide bond is an amide type of covalent chemical bond linking two consecutive alpha-amino acids from C1 of one alpha-amino acid and N2 of another, along a peptide or protein chain.
L-Tyrosine or tyrosine or 4-hydroxyphenylalanine is one of the 20 standard amino acids that are used by cells to synthesize proteins. It is a non-essential amino acid with a polar side group. The word "tyrosine" is from the Greek tyrós, meaning cheese, as it was first discovered in 1846 by German chemist Justus von Liebig in the protein casein from cheese. It is called tyrosyl when referred to as a functional group or side chain. While tyrosine is generally classified as a hydrophobic amino acid, it is more hydrophilic than phenylalanine. It is encoded by the codons UAC and UAU in messenger RNA.
In biochemistry, isomerases are a general class of enzymes that convert a molecule from one isomer to another. Isomerases facilitate intramolecular rearrangements in which bonds are broken and formed. The general form of such a reaction is as follows:
Cytochrome P450 2E1 is a member of the cytochrome P450 mixed-function oxidase system, which is involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics in the body. This class of enzymes is divided up into a number of subcategories, including CYP1, CYP2, and CYP3, which as a group are largely responsible for the breakdown of foreign compounds in mammals.
Nonribosomal peptides (NRP) are a class of peptide secondary metabolites, usually produced by microorganisms like bacteria and fungi. Nonribosomal peptides are also found in higher organisms, such as nudibranchs, but are thought to be made by bacteria inside these organisms. While there exist a wide range of peptides that are not synthesized by ribosomes, the term nonribosomal peptide typically refers to a very specific set of these as discussed in this article.
Catechol, also known as pyrocatechol or 1,2-dihydroxybenzene, is an organic compound with the molecular formula C6H4(OH)2. It is the ortho isomer of the three isomeric benzenediols. This colorless compound occurs naturally in trace amounts. It was first discovered by destructive distillation of the plant extract catechin. About 20,000 tonnes of catechol are now synthetically produced annually as a commodity organic chemical, mainly as a precursor to pesticides, flavors, and fragrances.
Homoserine (also called isothreonine) is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCH(NH2)CH2CH2OH. L-Homoserine is not one of the common amino acids encoded by DNA. It differs from the proteinogenic amino acid serine by insertion of an additional -CH2- unit into the backbone. Homoserine, or its lactone form, is the product of a cyanogen bromide cleavage of a peptide by degradation of methionine.
Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is the ester of caffeic acid and (−)-quinic acid, functioning as an intermediate in lignin biosynthesis. The term "chlorogenic acids" refers to a related polyphenol family of esters, including hydroxycinnamic acids with quinic acid.
Caffeic acid is an organic compound that is classified as a hydroxycinnamic acid. This yellow solid consists of both phenolic and acrylic functional groups. It is found in all plants because it is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of lignin, one of the principal components of woody plant biomass and its residues.
An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to an enzyme and blocks its activity. Enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions necessary for life, in which substrate molecules are converted into products. An enzyme facilitates a specific chemical reaction by binding the substrate to its active site, a specialized area on the enzyme that accelerates the most difficult step of the reaction.
Inositol oxygenase, also commonly referred to as myo-inositol oxygenase (MIOX), is a non-heme di-iron enzyme that oxidizes myo-inositol to glucuronic acid. The enzyme employs a unique four-electron transfer at its Fe(II)/Fe(III) coordination sites and the reaction proceeds through the direct binding of myo-inositol followed by attack of the iron center by diatomic oxygen. This enzyme is part of the only known pathway for the catabolism of inositol in humans and is expressed primarily in the kidneys. Recent medical research regarding MIOX has focused on understanding its role in metabolic and kidney diseases such as diabetes, obesity and acute kidney injury. Industrially-focused engineering efforts are centered on improving MIOX activity in order to produce glucaric acid in heterologous hosts.
Enzyme catalysis is the increase in the rate of a process by a biological molecule, an "enzyme". Most enzymes are proteins, and most such processes are chemical reactions. Within the enzyme, generally catalysis occurs at a localized site, called the active site.
Polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme involved in fruit browning, is a tetramer that contains four atoms of copper per molecule.
Isocitric acid is a structural isomer of citric acid. Since citric acid and isocitric acid are structural isomers, they share similar physical and chemical properties. Due to these similar properties, it is difficult to separate the isomers. Salts and esters of isocitric acid are known as isocitrates. The isocitrate anion is a substrate of the citric acid cycle. Isocitrate is formed from citrate with the help of the enzyme aconitase, and is acted upon by isocitrate dehydrogenase.
Nuclease S1 is an endonuclease enzyme that splits single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and RNA into oligo- or mononucleotides. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction
Epoxygenases are a set of membrane-bound, heme-containing cytochrome P450 enzymes that metabolize polyunsaturated fatty acids to epoxide products that have a range of biological activities. The most thoroughly studied substrate of the CYP epoxylgenases is arachidonic acid. This polyunsaturated fatty acid is metabolized by cyclooxygenases to various prostaglandin, thromboxane, and prostacyclin metabolites in what has been termed the first pathway of eicosanoid production; it is also metabolized by various lipoxygenases to hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids and leukotrienes in what has been termed the second pathway of eicosanoid production. The metabolism of arachidonic acid to epoxyeicosatrienoic acids by the CYP epoxygenases has been termed the third pathway of eicosanoid metabolism. Like the first two pathways of eicosanoid production, this third pathway acts as a signaling pathway wherein a set of enzymes metabolize arachidonic acid to a set of products that act as secondary signals to work in activating their parent or nearby cells and thereby orchestrate functional responses. However, none of these three pathways is limited to metabolizing arachidonic acid to eicosanoids. Rather, they also metabolize other polyunsaturated fatty acids to products that are structurally analogous to the eicosanoids but often have different bioactivity profiles. This is particularly true for the CYP epoxygenases which in general act on a broader range of polyunsaturated fatty acids to form a broader range of metabolites than the first and second pathways of eicosanoid production. Furthermore, the latter pathways form metabolites many of which act on cells by binding with and thereby activating specific and well-characterized receptor proteins; no such receptors have been fully characterized for the epoxide metabolites. Finally, there are relatively few metabolite-forming lipoxygenases and cyclooxygenases in the first and second pathways and these oxygenase enzymes share similarity between humans and other mammalian animal models. The third pathway consists of a large number of metabolite-forming CYP epoxygenases and the human epoxygenases have important differences from those of animal models. Partly because of these differences, it has been difficult to define clear roles for the epoxygenase-epoxide pathways in human physiology and pathology.
meta-Tyramine, also known as m-tyramine and 3-tyramine, is an endogenous trace amine neuromodulator and a structural analog of phenethylamine. It is a positional isomer of para-tyramine, and similarly to it, has effects on the adrenergic and dopaminergic systems.
In organometallic chemistry, transition metal complexes of nitrite describes families of coordination complexes containing one or more nitrite ligands. Although the synthetic derivatives are only of scholarly interest, metal-nitrite complexes occur in several enzymes that participate in the nitrogen cycle.
