Leucine (symbol Leu or L) is an essential amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. Leucine is an α-amino acid, meaning it contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated −NH3+ form under biological conditions), an α-carboxylic acid group (which is in the deprotonated −COO− form under biological conditions), and a side chain isobutyl group, making it a non-polar aliphatic amino acid. It is essential in humans, meaning the body cannot synthesize it: it must be obtained from the diet. Human dietary sources are foods that contain protein, such as meats, dairy products, soy products, and beans and other legumes. It is encoded by the codons UUA, UUG, CUU, CUC, CUA, and CUG.
Mycophenolic acid is an immunosuppressant medication used to prevent rejection following organ transplantation and to treat autoimmune conditions such as Crohn's disease and lupus. Specifically it is used following kidney, heart, and liver transplantation. It can be given by mouth or by injection into a vein. It comes as mycophenolate sodium and mycophenolate mofetil.
Hydrolase is a class of enzymes that commonly perform as biochemical catalysts that use water to break a chemical bond, which typically results in dividing a larger molecule into smaller molecules. Some common examples of hydrolase enzymes are esterases including lipases, phosphatases, glycosidases, peptidases, and nucleosidases.
Drug metabolism is the metabolic breakdown of drugs by living organisms, usually through specialized enzymatic systems. More generally, xenobiotic metabolism is the set of metabolic pathways that modify the chemical structure of xenobiotics, which are compounds foreign to an organism's normal biochemistry, such as any drug or poison. These pathways are a form of biotransformation present in all major groups of organisms and are considered to be of ancient origin. These reactions often act to detoxify poisonous compounds. The study of drug metabolism is called pharmacokinetics.
ACADM is a gene that provides instructions for making an enzyme called acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase that is important for breaking down (degrading) a certain group of fats called medium-chain fatty acids.
Cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily C member 9 is an enzyme protein. The enzyme is involved in metabolism, by oxidation, of both xenobiotics, including drugs, and endogenous compounds, including fatty acids. In humans, the protein is encoded by the CYP2C9 gene. The gene is highly polymorphic, which affects the efficiency of the metabolism by the enzyme.
Synergistic enhancers of antiretrovirals usually do not possess any antiretroviral properties alone, but when they are taken concurrently with antiretroviral drugs they enhance the effect of that drug.
β-Hydroxybutyric acid, also known as 3-hydroxybutyric acid or BHB, is an organic compound and a beta hydroxy acid with the chemical formula CH3CH(OH)CH2CO2H; its conjugate base is β-hydroxybutyrate, also known as 3-hydroxybutyrate. β-Hydroxybutyric acid is a chiral compound with two enantiomers: D-β-hydroxybutyric acid and L-β-hydroxybutyric acid. Its oxidized and polymeric derivatives occur widely in nature. In humans, D-β-hydroxybutyric acid is one of two primary endogenous agonists of hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 2 (HCA2), a Gi/o-coupled G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR).
Propionyl-CoA is a coenzyme A derivative of propionic acid. It is composed of a 24 total carbon chain and its production and metabolic fate depend on which organism it is present in. Several different pathways can lead to its production, such as through the catabolism of specific amino acids or the oxidation of odd-chain fatty acids. It later can be broken down by propionyl-CoA carboxylase or through the methylcitrate cycle. In different organisms, however, propionyl-CoA can be sequestered into controlled regions, to alleviate its potential toxicity through accumulation. Genetic deficiencies regarding the production and breakdown of propionyl-CoA also have great clinical and human significance.
The enzyme carboxylesterase (or carboxylic-ester hydrolase, EC 3.1.1.1; systematic name carboxylic-ester hydrolase) catalyzes reactions of the following form:
Liver carboxylesterase 1 also known as carboxylesterase 1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CES1 gene. The protein is also historically known as serine esterase 1 (SES1), monocyte esterase and cholesterol ester hydrolase (CEH). Three transcript variants encoding three different isoforms have been found for this gene. The various protein products from isoform a, b and c range in size from 568, 567 and 566 amino acids long, respectively.
Glycine-N-acyltransferase, also known as GLYAT, is an enzyme which in humans is encoded by the GLYAT gene.
Acyl-coenzyme A thioesterase 4 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ACOT4 gene.
Acyl-coenzyme A thioesterase 11 also known as StAR-related lipid transfer protein 14 (STARD14) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ACOT11 gene. This gene encodes a protein with acyl-CoA thioesterase activity towards medium (C12) and long-chain (C18) fatty acyl-CoA substrates which relies on its StAR-related lipid transfer domain. Expression of a similar murine protein in brown adipose tissue is induced by cold exposure and repressed by warmth. Expression of the mouse protein has been associated with obesity, with higher expression found in obesity-resistant mice compared with obesity-prone mice. Alternative splicing results in two transcript variants encoding different isoforms.
Inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase 2, also known as IMP dehydrogenase 2, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the IMPDH2 gene.
UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1-9 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the UGT1A9 gene.
Acyl-CoA thioesterase 9 is a protein that is encoded by the human ACOT9 gene. It is a member of the acyl-CoA thioesterase superfamily, which is a group of enzymes that hydrolyze Coenzyme A esters. There is no known function, however it has been shown to act as a long-chain thioesterase at low concentrations, and a short-chain thioesterase at high concentrations.
Anthony Clifford Allison was a South African geneticist and medical scientist who made pioneering studies on the genetic resistance to malaria. Clark completed his primary schooling in Kenya, completed his higher education in South Africa, and obtained a BSc in medical science from the University of the Witwatersrand in 1947. He earned his PhD from the University of Oxford in 1950. After working at the Radcliffe Infirmary for two years, he worked as post-doctoral student to Linus Pauling in 1954. After teaching medicine for three years at Oxford, he worked at the Medical Research Council in London. In 1978 he simultaneously worked at the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases (ILRAD) as its Director, and at the World Health Organization's (WHO) Immunology Laboratory, both in Nairobi. He later became the Vice President for Research at Syntex Corporation (1981-1994).
Bartolomeo Gosio was an Italian medical scientist. He discovered a toxic fume, eponymously named "Gosio gas", which is produced by microorganisms, that killed many people. He identified the chemical nature of the gas as an arsenic compound (arsine), but incorrectly named it as diethylarsine. He also discovered an antibacterial compound called mycophenolic acid from the mould Penicillium brevicompactum. He demonstrated that the novel compound was effective against the deadly anthrax bacterium, Bacillus anthracis. This was the first antibiotic compound isolated in pure and crystallised form. Though the original compound was abandoned in clinical practice due to its adverse effects, its chemical derivative mycophenolate mofetil became the drug of choice as an immunosuppressant in kidney, heart, and liver transplantations.
β-Hydroxy β-methylbutyryl-coenzyme A (HMB-CoA), also known as 3-hydroxyisovaleryl-CoA, is a metabolite of L-leucine that is produced in the human body. Its immediate precursors are β-hydroxy β-methylbutyric acid (HMB) and β-methylcrotonoyl-CoA (MC-CoA). It can be metabolized into HMB, MC-CoA, and HMG-CoA in humans.
