Ruma Banerjee

Last updated
Ruma Banerjee
Born
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Michigan, Renssalaer Poytechnic University
Doctoral advisor Jim Coward
Website https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/biochem/ruma-banerjee-phd

Ruma Banerjee is a professor of enzymology and biological chemistry at the University of Michigan Medical School. She is an experimentalist whose research has focused on unusual cofactors in enzymology.

Contents

Research

Banerjee's work focuses on the enzymes, coenzymes and metabolic pathways that support and interact with the sulfur network in mammals. The enzymes that she studies are involved in the biogenesis and oxidation of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and in the assimilation, trafficking and utilization of the essential vitamin B12 cofactor. The coenzymes that she studies include vitamins B2 (flavin), B6 (pyridoxal phosphate), B12 (cobalamin), and heme, which support key junction enzymes that commit the flow of sulfur to metabolic tributaries and are major hubs of regulation. Her research is focused on understanding how H2S signals by targeting energy metabolism, with consequent impact on redox, central carbon, nucleotide and lipid metabolism. Her research been instrumental in elucidating the structural enzymology of the complex B12 trafficking pathway chaperones found in humans, illuminating how redox-linked coordination chemistry controls the reactivity and translocation of this large organometallic cofactor between proteins, and how mutations described in homocystinuria and methylmalonic aciduria patients, dysregulate this pathway. [1]

Editorial

Since 2012, Professor Banerjee has been an Associate Editor for Chemical Reviews and the Journal of Biological Chemistry. [2] She has authored two textbooks on the chemistry and biological effects of Vitamin B12 and on reduction / oxidation cascades in biological systems. [3]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metabolism</span> Set of chemical reactions in organisms

Metabolism is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the conversion of food to building blocks of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates; and the elimination of metabolic wastes. These enzyme-catalyzed reactions allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. The word metabolism can also refer to the sum of all chemical reactions that occur in living organisms, including digestion and the transportation of substances into and between different cells, in which case the above described set of reactions within the cells is called intermediary metabolism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methionine</span> Sulfur-containing amino acid

Methionine is an essential amino acid in humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coenzyme A</span> Coenzyme, notable for its synthesis and oxidation role

Coenzyme A (CoA, SHCoA, CoASH) is a coenzyme, notable for its role in the synthesis and oxidation of fatty acids, and the oxidation of pyruvate in the citric acid cycle. All genomes sequenced to date encode enzymes that use coenzyme A as a substrate, and around 4% of cellular enzymes use it (or a thioester) as a substrate. In humans, CoA biosynthesis requires cysteine, pantothenate (vitamin B5), and adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

A prosthetic group is the non-amino acid component that is part of the structure of the heteroproteins or conjugated proteins, being tightly linked to the apoprotein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cofactor (biochemistry)</span> Non-protein chemical compound or metallic ion

A cofactor is a non-protein chemical compound or metallic ion that is required for an enzyme's role as a catalyst. Cofactors can be considered "helper molecules" that assist in biochemical transformations. The rates at which these happen are characterized in an area of study called enzyme kinetics. Cofactors typically differ from ligands in that they often derive their function by remaining bound.

Bioinorganic chemistry is a field that examines the role of metals in biology. Bioinorganic chemistry includes the study of both natural phenomena such as the behavior of metalloproteins as well as artificially introduced metals, including those that are non-essential, in medicine and toxicology. Many biological processes such as respiration depend upon molecules that fall within the realm of inorganic chemistry. The discipline also includes the study of inorganic models or mimics that imitate the behaviour of metalloproteins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methionine synthase</span> Mammalian protein found in Homo sapiens

Methionine synthase (MS, MeSe, MTR) is responsible for the regeneration of methionine from homocysteine. In humans it is encoded by the MTR gene (5-methyltetrahydrofolate-homocysteine methyltransferase). Methionine synthase forms part of the S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) biosynthesis and regeneration cycle, and is the enzyme responsible for linking the cycle to one-carbon metabolism via the folate cycle. There are two primary forms of this enzyme, the Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)-dependent (MetH) and independent (MetE) forms, although minimal core methionine synthases that do not fit cleanly into either category have also been described in some anaerobic bacteria. The two dominant forms of the enzymes appear to be evolutionary independent and rely on considerably different chemical mechanisms. Mammals and other higher eukaryotes express only the cobalamin-dependent form. In contrast, the distribution of the two forms in Archaeplastida (plants and algae) is more complex. Plants exclusively possess the cobalamin-independent form, while algae have either one of the two, depending on species. Many different microorganisms express both the cobalamin-dependent and cobalamin-independent forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methylcobalamin</span> Form of vitamin B12

Methylcobalamin (mecobalamin, MeCbl, or MeB12) is a cobalamin, a form of vitamin B12. It differs from cyanocobalamin in that the cyano group at the cobalt is replaced with a methyl group. Methylcobalamin features an octahedral cobalt(III) centre and can be obtained as bright red crystals. From the perspective of coordination chemistry, methylcobalamin is notable as a rare example of a compound that contains metal–alkyl bonds. Nickel–methyl intermediates have been proposed for the final step of methanogenesis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methylmalonyl-CoA mutase</span> Mammalian protein found in Homo sapiens

Methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (EC 5.4.99.2, MCM), mitochondrial, also known as methylmalonyl-CoA isomerase, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MUT gene. This vitamin B12-dependent enzyme catalyzes the isomerization of methylmalonyl-CoA to succinyl-CoA in humans. Mutations in MUT gene may lead to various types of methylmalonic aciduria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methylmalonyl-CoA</span> Chemical compound

Methylmalonyl-CoA is the thioester consisting of coenzyme A linked to methylmalonic acid. It is an important intermediate in the biosynthesis of succinyl-CoA, which plays an essential role in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The compound is sometimes referred to as "methylmalyl-CoA".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cystathionine beta synthase</span> Mammalian protein found in humans

Cystathionine-β-synthase, also known as CBS, is an enzyme (EC 4.2.1.22) that in humans is encoded by the CBS gene. It catalyzes the first step of the transsulfuration pathway, from homocysteine to cystathionine:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobalamin riboswitch</span>

Cobalamin riboswitch is a cis-regulatory element which is widely distributed in 5' untranslated regions of vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) related genes in bacteria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sirohydrochlorin cobaltochelatase</span> Enzyme

The enzyme sirohydrochlorin cobaltochelatase (EC 4.99.1.3) catalyzes the reaction

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyanocobalamin</span> Form of vitamin B-12

Cyanocobalamin is a form of vitamin B
12
used to treat and prevent vitamin B
12
deficiency
except in the presence of cyanide toxicity. The deficiency may occur in pernicious anemia, following surgical removal of the stomach, with fish tapeworm, or due to bowel cancer. It is used by mouth, by injection into a muscle, or as a nasal spray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTRR (gene)</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Methionine synthase reductase, also known as MSR, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MTRR gene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vitamin B12-binding domain</span> Type of protein domain

In molecular biology, the vitamin B12-binding domain is a protein domain which binds to cobalamin. It can bind two different forms of the cobalamin cofactor, with cobalt bonded either to a methyl group (methylcobalamin) or to 5'-deoxyadenosine (adenosylcobalamin). Cobalamin-binding domains are mainly found in two families of enzymes present in animals and prokaryotes, which perform distinct kinds of reactions at the cobalt-carbon bond. Enzymes that require methylcobalamin carry out methyl transfer reactions. Enzymes that require adenosylcobalamin catalyse reactions in which the first step is the cleavage of adenosylcobalamin to form cob(II)alamin and the 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical, and thus act as radical generators. In both types of enzymes the B12-binding domain uses a histidine to bind the cobalt atom of cobalamin cofactors. This histidine is embedded in a DXHXXG sequence, the most conserved primary sequence motif of the domain. Proteins containing the cobalamin-binding domain include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobalamin biosynthesis</span>

Cobalamin biosynthesis is the process by which bacteria and archea make cobalamin, vitamin B12. Many steps are involved in converting aminolevulinic acid via uroporphyrinogen III and adenosylcobyric acid to the final forms in which it is used by enzymes in both the producing organisms and other species, including humans who acquire it through their diet.

Rowena Green Matthews, born in 1938, is the G. Robert Greenberg Distinguished University professor emeritus at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her research focuses on the role of organic cofactors as partners of enzymes catalyzing difficult biochemical reactions, especially folic acid and cobalamin. Among other honors, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2002 and the Institute of Medicine in 2004.

Evolution of metal ions in biological systems refers to the incorporation of metallic ions into living organisms and how it has changed over time. Metal ions have been associated with biological systems for billions of years, but only in the last century have scientists began to truly appreciate the scale of their influence. Major and minor metal ions have become aligned with living organisms through the interplay of biogeochemical weathering and metabolic pathways involving the products of that weathering. The associated complexes have evolved over time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobalt in biology</span> Use of Cobalt by organisms

Cobalt is essential to the metabolism of all animals. It is a key constituent of cobalamin, also known as vitamin B12, the primary biological reservoir of cobalt as an ultratrace element. Bacteria in the stomachs of ruminant animals convert cobalt salts into vitamin B12, a compound which can only be produced by bacteria or archaea. A minimal presence of cobalt in soils therefore markedly improves the health of grazing animals, and an uptake of 0.20 mg/kg a day is recommended because they have no other source of vitamin B12.

References

  1. Banerjee R, Ragsdale SW (2003). "The many faces of vitamin B12: catalysis by cobalamin-dependent enzymes". Annual Review of Biochemistry. 72: 209–47. doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.72.121801.161828. PMID   14527323.
  2. "Meet Ruma Banerjee". www.asbmb.org. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  3. "Ruma Banerjee, Ph.D. | Biological Chemistry | Michigan Medicine | University of Michigan". medicine.umich.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-18.