Cysteine is a semiessential proteinogenic amino acid with the formula HOOC−CH(−NH2)−CH2−SH. The thiol side chain in cysteine enables the formation of disulfide bonds, and often participates in enzymatic reactions as a nucleophile. Cysteine is chiral, but both D and L-cysteine are found in nature. L‑Cysteine is a protein monomer in all biota, and D-cysteine acts as a signaling molecule in mammalian nervous systems. Cysteine is named after its discovery in urine, which comes from the urinary bladder or cyst, from Greek κύστη kýsti, "bladder".
Methionine is an essential amino acid in humans.
Taurine, or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is a non-proteinogenic naturally occurring amino sulfonic acid that is widely distributed in animal tissues. It is a major constituent of bile and can be found in the large intestine, and accounts for up to 0.1% of total human body weight.
Glutathione is an organic compound with the chemical formula HOCOCH(NH2)CH2CH2CONHCH(CH2SH)CONHCH2COOH. It is an antioxidant in plants, animals, fungi, and some bacteria and archaea. Glutathione is capable of preventing damage to important cellular components caused by sources such as reactive oxygen species, free radicals, peroxides, lipid peroxides, and heavy metals. It is a tripeptide with a gamma peptide linkage between the carboxyl group of the glutamate side chain and cysteine. The carboxyl group of the cysteine residue is attached by normal peptide linkage to glycine.
Cysteine dioxygenase (CDO) is a non-heme iron enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of L-cysteine to cysteine sulfinic acid. CDO plays an important role in cysteine catabolism, regulating intracellular levels of cysteine and responding changes in cysteine availability. As such, CDO is highly regulated and undergoes large changes in concentration and efficiency. It oxidizes cysteine to the corresponding sulfinic acid by activation of dioxygen, although the exact mechanism of the reaction is still unclear. In addition to being found in mammals, CDO also exists in some yeast and bacteria, although the exact function is still unknown. CDO has been implicated in various neurodegenerative diseases and cancers, which is likely related to cysteine toxicity.
Nitrosation and nitrosylation are two names for the process of converting organic compounds or metal complexes into nitroso derivatives, i.e., compounds containing the R−NO functionality. The synonymy arises because the R-NO functionality can be interpreted two different ways, depending on the physico-chemical environment:
Sulfur assimilation is the process by which living organisms incorporate sulfur into their biological molecules. In plants, sulfate is absorbed by the roots and then transported to the chloroplasts by the transipration stream where the sulfur are reduced to sulfide with the help of a series of enzymatic reactions. Furthermore, the reduced sulfur is incorporated into cysteine, an amino acid that is a precursor to many other sulfur-containing compounds. In animals, sulfur assimilation occurs primarily through the diet, as animals cannot produce sulfur-containing compounds directly. Sulfur is incorporated into amino acids such as cysteine and methionine, which are used to build proteins and other important molecules.
Sulfinic acids are oxoacids of sulfur with the structure RSO(OH). In these organosulfur compounds, sulfur is pyramidal.
In chemistry, a sulfenic acid is an organosulfur compound and oxoacid with the general formula R−S−OH. It is the first member of the family of organosulfur oxoacids, which also include sulfinic acids and sulfonic acids, respectively. The base member of the sulfenic acid series with R = H is hydrogen thioperoxide.
Peroxiredoxins are a ubiquitous family of antioxidant enzymes that also control cytokine-induced peroxide levels and thereby mediate signal transduction in mammalian cells. The family members in humans are PRDX1, PRDX2, PRDX3, PRDX4, PRDX5, and PRDX6. The physiological importance of peroxiredoxins is indicated by their relative abundance. Their function is the reduction of peroxides, specifically hydrogen peroxide, alkyl hydroperoxides, and peroxynitrite.
Cystamine (2,2'-dithiobisethanamine) is an organic disulfide. It is formed when cystine is heated, the result of decarboxylation. Cystamine is an unstable liquid and is generally handled as the dihydrochloride salt, C4H12N2S2·2HCl, which is stable to 203-214 °C at which point it decomposes. Cystamine is toxic if swallowed or inhaled and potentially harmful by contact.
Cystathionine is an intermediate in the synthesis of cysteine from homocysteine. It is produced by the transsulfuration pathway and is converted into cysteine by cystathionine gamma-lyase (CTH).
In enzymology, a taurine dioxygenase (EC 1.14.11.17) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction.
The enzyme sulfinoalanine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.29) catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a bile acid-CoA:amino acid N-acyltransferase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
Sulfiredoxin-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SRXN1 gene.
Cysteine sulfinic acid is the organic compound with the nominal formula HO2SCH2CH(NH2)CO2H. It is a rare example of an amino acid bearing a sulfinic acid functional group. It is a white solid that is soluble in water. Like most natural amino acids, it is chiral, only the L-enantiomer occurs in nature, and it exists as the zwitterion at neutral pH. It is an intermediate in cysteine metabolism. It is not a coded amino acid, but is produced post-translationally. Peptides containing the cysteine sulfinic acid residue are substrates for cysteine sulfinic acid reductase.
Cysteic acid also known as 3-sulfo-l-alanine is the organic compound with the formula HO3SCH2CH(NH2)CO2H. It is often referred to as cysteate, which near neutral pH takes the form −O3SCH2CH(NH3+)CO2−.
In biochemistry, non-coded or non-proteinogenic amino acids are distinct from the 22 proteinogenic amino acids, which are naturally encoded in the genome of organisms for the assembly of proteins. However, over 140 non-proteinogenic amino acids occur naturally in proteins and thousands more may occur in nature or be synthesized in the laboratory. Chemically synthesized amino acids can be called unnatural amino acids. Unnatural amino acids can be synthetically prepared from their native analogs via modifications such as amine alkylation, side chain substitution, structural bond extension cyclization, and isosteric replacements within the amino acid backbone. Many non-proteinogenic amino acids are important:
Glutamate decarboxylase like 1 (GADL1) is the enzyme responsible for decarboxylating aspartate (Asp) to β-alanine and cysteine sulfinic acid (CSA) to hypotaurine. GADL1 is a Pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme. By decarboxylating Asp to β-alanine, GADL1 consequently plays a role in the production of carnosine. Carnosine and taurine have multiple biological functions such as calcium regulation, pH buffering, metal chelation, and antioxidant effects. β-Alanine also plays a role as neurotransmitter or neuromodulator in the central nervous system (CNS) and olfactory bulbs.
