Glycine (symbol Gly or G; ) is an amino acid that has a single hydrogen atom as its side chain. It is the simplest stable amino acid (carbamic acid is unstable), with the chemical formula NH2‐CH2‐COOH. Glycine is one of the proteinogenic amino acids. It is encoded by all the codons starting with GG (GGU, GGC, GGA, GGG). Glycine is integral to the formation of alpha-helices in secondary protein structure due to its compact form. For the same reason, it is the most abundant amino acid in collagen triple-helices. Glycine is also an inhibitory neurotransmitter – interference with its release within the spinal cord (such as during a Clostridium tetani infection) can cause spastic paralysis due to uninhibited muscle contraction.
The enzyme ornithine decarboxylase catalyzes the decarboxylation of ornithine to form putrescine. This reaction is the committed step in polyamine synthesis. In humans, this protein has 461 amino acids and forms a homodimer.
Aminolevulinic acid synthase (ALA synthase, ALAS, or delta-aminolevulinic acid synthase) is an enzyme (EC 2.3.1.37) that catalyzes the synthesis of δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) the first common precursor in the biosynthesis of all tetrapyrroles such as hemes, cobalamins and chlorophylls. The reaction is as follows:
Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase, also known as DOPA decarboxylase (DDC), tryptophan decarboxylase, and 5-hydroxytryptophan decarboxylase, is a lyase enzyme, located in region 7p12.2-p12.1.
Pyridoxal phosphate (PLP, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, P5P), the active form of vitamin B6, is a coenzyme in a variety of enzymatic reactions. The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has catalogued more than 140 PLP-dependent activities, corresponding to ~4% of all classified activities. The versatility of PLP arises from its ability to covalently bind the substrate, and then to act as an electrophilic catalyst, thereby stabilizing different types of carbanionic reaction intermediates.
Biosynthesis is a multi-step, enzyme-catalyzed process where substrates are converted into more complex products in living organisms. In biosynthesis, simple compounds are modified, converted into other compounds, or joined to form macromolecules. This process often consists of metabolic pathways. Some of these biosynthetic pathways are located within a single cellular organelle, while others involve enzymes that are located within multiple cellular organelles. Examples of these biosynthetic pathways include the production of lipid membrane components and nucleotides. Biosynthesis is usually synonymous with anabolism.
The enzyme histidine decarboxylase is transcribed on chromosome 15, region q21.1-21.2, and catalyzes the decarboxylation of histidine to form histamine. In mammals, histamine is an important biogenic amine with regulatory roles in neurotransmission, gastric acid secretion and immune response. Histidine decarboxylase is the sole member of the histamine synthesis pathway, producing histamine in a one-step reaction. Histamine cannot be generated by any other known enzyme. HDC is therefore the primary source of histamine in most mammals and eukaryotes. The enzyme employs a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) cofactor, in similarity to many amino acid decarboxylases. Eukaryotes, as well as gram-negative bacteria share a common HDC, while gram-positive bacteria employ an evolutionarily unrelated pyruvoyl-dependent HDC. In humans, histidine decarboxylase is encoded by the HDC gene.
Serine dehydratase or L-serine ammonia lyase (SDH) is in the β-family of pyridoxal phosphate-dependent (PLP) enzymes. SDH is found widely in nature, but its structural and properties vary among species. SDH is found in yeast, bacteria, and the cytoplasm of mammalian hepatocytes. SDH catalyzes is the deamination of L-serine to yield pyruvate, with the release of ammonia.
The enzyme adenosylmethionine decarboxylase catalyzes the conversion of S-adenosyl methionine to S-adenosylmethioninamine. Polyamines such as spermidine and spermine are essential for cellular growth under most conditions, being implicated in many cellular processes including DNA, RNA and protein synthesis. S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (AdoMetDC) plays an essential regulatory role in the polyamine biosynthetic pathway by generating the n-propylamine residue required for the synthesis of spermidine and spermine from putrescein. Unlike many amino acid decarboxylases AdoMetDC uses a covalently bound pyruvate residue as a cofactor rather than the more common pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. These proteins can be divided into two main groups which show little sequence similarity either to each other, or to other pyruvoyl-dependent amino acid decarboxylases: class I enzymes found in bacteria and archaea, and class II enzymes found in eukaryotes. In both groups the active enzyme is generated by the post-translational autocatalytic cleavage of a precursor protein. This cleavage generates the pyruvate precursor from an internal serine residue and results in the formation of two non-identical subunits termed alpha and beta which form the active enzyme.
Aminomethyltransferase is an enzyme that catabolizes the creation of methylenetetrahydrofolate. It is part of the glycine decarboxylase complex.
Glycine decarboxylase also known as glycine cleavage system P protein or glycine dehydrogenase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the GLDC gene.
Cystathionine beta-lyase, also commonly referred to as CBL or β-cystathionase, is an enzyme that primarily catalyzes the following α,β-elimination reaction
The enzyme Acid-Induced Arginine Decarboxylase (AdiA), also commonly referred to as arginine decarboxylase, catalyzes the conversion of L-arginine into agmatine and carbon dioxide. The process consumes a proton in the decarboxylation and employs a pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) cofactor, similar to other enzymes involved in amino acid metabolism, such as ornithine decarboxylase and glutamine decarboxylase. It is found in bacteria and virus, though most research has so far focused on forms of the enzyme in bacteria. During the AdiA catalyzed decarboxylation of arginine, the necessary proton is consumed from the cell cytoplasm which helps to prevent the over-accumulation of protons inside the cell and serves to increase the intracellular pH. Arginine decarboxylase is part of an enzymatic system in Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, and methane-producing bacteria Methanococcus jannaschii that makes these organisms acid resistant and allows them to survive under highly acidic medium.
The enzyme diaminopimelate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.20 ) catalyzes the cleavage of carbon-carbon bonds in meso 2,6 diaminoheptanedioate to produce CO2 and L-lysine, the essential amino acid. It employs the cofactor pyridoxal phosphate, also known as PLP, which participates in numerous enzymatic transamination, decarboxylation and deamination reactions.
Glycine cleavage system H protein, mitochondrial is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GCSH gene. Degradation of glycine is brought about by the glycine cleavage system (GCS), which is composed of 4 protein components: P protein, H protein, T protein, and L protein. The H protein shuttles the methylamine group of glycine from the P protein to the T protein. The protein encoded by GCSH gene is the H protein, which transfers the methylamine group of glycine from the P protein to the T protein. Defects in this gene are a cause of nonketotic hyperglycinemia (NKH). Two transcript variants, one protein-coding and the other probably not protein-coding, have been found for this gene. Also, several transcribed and non-transcribed pseudogenes of this gene exist throughout the genome.
The glycine cleavage system (GCS) is also known as the glycine decarboxylase complex or GDC. The system is a series of enzymes that are triggered in response to high concentrations of the amino acid glycine. The same set of enzymes is sometimes referred to as glycine synthase when it runs in the reverse direction to form glycine. The glycine cleavage system is composed of four proteins: the T-protein, P-protein, L-protein, and H-protein. They do not form a stable complex, so it is more appropriate to call it a "system" instead of a "complex". The H-protein is responsible for interacting with the three other proteins and acts as a shuttle for some of the intermediate products in glycine decarboxylation. In both animals and plants, the glycine cleavage system is loosely attached to the inner membrane of the mitochondria. Mutations in this enzymatic system are linked with glycine encephalopathy.
The Walker A and Walker B motifs are protein sequence motifs, known to have highly conserved three-dimensional structures. These were first reported in ATP-binding proteins by Walker and co-workers in 1982.
In molecular biology, group III pyridoxal-dependent decarboxylases are a family of bacterial enzymes comprising ornithine decarboxylase EC 4.1.1.17, lysine decarboxylase EC 4.1.1.18 and arginine decarboxylase EC 4.1.1.19.
In molecular biology, group IV pyridoxal-dependent decarboxylases are a family of enzymes comprising ornithine decarboxylase EC 4.1.1.17, lysine decarboxylase EC 4.1.1.18, arginine decarboxylase EC 4.1.1.19 and diaminopimelate decarboxylaseEC 4.1.1.20. It is also known as the Orn/Lys/Arg decarboxylase class-II family.
In molecular biology, group II pyridoxal-dependent decarboxylases are family of enzymes including aromatic-L-amino-acid decarboxylase EC 4.1.1.28, which catalyses the decarboxylation of tryptophan to tryptamine, tyrosine decarboxylase EC 4.1.1.25, which converts tyrosine into tyramine and histidine decarboxylase EC 4.1.1.22, which catalyses the decarboxylation of histidine to histamine.
