Skeletal formula of L-tyrosine | |||
L-Tyrosine at physiological pH | |||
Names | |||
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IUPAC name (S)-Tyrosine | |||
Other names L-2-Amino-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propanoic acid | |||
Identifiers | |||
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3D model (JSmol) | |||
ChEBI | |||
ChEMBL | |||
ChemSpider | |||
DrugBank | |||
ECHA InfoCard | 100.000.419 | ||
KEGG | |||
PubChem CID | |||
UNII | |||
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |||
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Properties | |||
C9H11NO3 | |||
Molar mass | 181.191 g·mol−1 | ||
Appearance | white solid | ||
.0453 g/100 mL | |||
-105.3·10−6 cm3/mol | |||
Hazards | |||
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |||
Supplementary data page | |||
Tyrosine (data page) | |||
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
L-Tyrosine or tyrosine (symbol Tyr or Y) [2] or 4-hydroxyphenylalanine is one of the 20 standard amino acids that are used by cells to synthesize proteins. It is a conditionally 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. [3] [4] 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. [5] It is encoded by the codons UAC and UAU in messenger RNA.
The one-letter symbol Y was assigned to tyrosine for being alphabetically nearest of those letters available. Note that T was assigned to the structurally simpler threonine, U was avoided for its similarity with V for valine, W was assigned to tryptophan, while X was reserved for undetermined or atypical amino acids. [6] The mnemonic tYrosine was also proposed. [7]
Aside from being a proteinogenic amino acid, tyrosine has a special role by virtue of the phenol functionality. Its hydroxy group is able to form the ester linkage, with phosphate in particular. Phosphate groups are transferred to tyrosine residues by way of protein kinases. This is one of the post-translational modifications. Phosphorylated tyrosine occurs in proteins that are part of signal transduction processes.
Similar functionality is also presented in serine and threonine, whose side chains have a hydroxy group, but are alcohols. Phosphorylation of these three amino acids' moieties (including tyrosine) creates a negative charge on their ends, that is greater than the negative charge of the only negatively charged aspartic and glutamic acids. Phosphorylated proteins keep these same properties—which are useful for more reliable protein-protein interactions—by means of phosphotyrosine, phosphoserine and phosphothreonine. [8]
Binding sites for a signalling phosphoprotein may be diverse in their chemical structure. [9]
Phosphorylation of the hydroxyl group can change the activity of the target protein, or may form part of a signaling cascade via SH2 domain binding. [10]
A tyrosine residue also plays an important role in photosynthesis. In chloroplasts (photosystem II), it acts as an electron donor in the reduction of oxidized chlorophyll. In this process, it loses the hydrogen atom of its phenolic OH-group. This radical is subsequently reduced in the photosystem II by the four core manganese clusters. [11]
The Dietary Reference Intake for tyrosine is usually estimated together with phenylalanine. It varies depending on an estimate method, however the ideal proportion of these two amino acids is considered to be 60:40 (phenylalanine:tyrosine) as a human body has such composition. [12] Tyrosine, which can also be synthesized in the body from phenylalanine, is found in many high-protein food products such as meat, fish, cheese, cottage cheese, milk, yogurt, peanuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, soy protein and lima beans. [13] [14] For example, the white of an egg has about 250 mg per egg, [15] while beef, lamb, pork, tuna, salmon, chicken, and turkey contain about 500–1000 mg per 3 ounces (85 g) portion. [15] [16]
In plants and most microorganisms, tyrosine is produced via prephenate, an intermediate on the shikimate pathway. Prephenate is oxidatively decarboxylated with retention of the hydroxyl group to give p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate, which is transaminated using glutamate as the nitrogen source to give tyrosine and α-ketoglutarate.
Mammals synthesize tyrosine from the essential amino acid phenylalanine (Phe), which is derived from food. The conversion of Phe to Tyr is catalyzed by the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase, a monooxygenase. This enzyme catalyzes the reaction causing the addition of a hydroxyl group to the end of the 6-carbon aromatic ring of phenylalanine, such that it becomes tyrosine.
Some of the tyrosine residues can be tagged (at the hydroxyl group) with a phosphate group (phosphorylated) by protein kinases. In its phosphorylated form, tyrosine is called phosphotyrosine. Tyrosine phosphorylation is considered to be one of the key steps in signal transduction and regulation of enzymatic activity. Phosphotyrosine can be detected through specific antibodies. Tyrosine residues may also be modified by the addition of a sulfate group, a process known as tyrosine sulfation. [17] Tyrosine sulfation is catalyzed by tyrosylprotein sulfotransferase (TPST). Like the phosphotyrosine antibodies mentioned above, antibodies have recently been described that specifically detect sulfotyrosine. [18]
In dopaminergic cells in the brain, tyrosine is converted to L-DOPA by the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). TH is the rate-limiting enzyme involved in the synthesis of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine can then be converted into other catecholamines, such as norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and epinephrine (adrenaline).
The thyroid hormones triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) in the colloid of the thyroid are also derived from tyrosine.
The latex of Papaver somniferum , the opium poppy, has been shown to convert tyrosine into the alkaloid morphine and the bio-synthetic pathway has been established from tyrosine to morphine by using Carbon-14 radio-labelled tyrosine to trace the in-vivo synthetic route. [22] Tyrosine ammonia lyase (TAL) is an enzyme in the natural phenols biosynthesis pathway. It transforms L-tyrosine into p-coumaric acid. Tyrosine is also the precursor to the pigment melanin . Tyrosine (or its precursor phenylalanine) is needed to synthesize the benzoquinone structure which forms part of coenzyme Q10. [23] [24]
[ citation needed ]
The decomposition of L-tyrosine (syn. para-hydroxyphenylalanine) begins with an α-ketoglutarate dependent transamination through the tyrosine transaminase to para-hydroxyphenylpyruvate. The positional description para, abbreviated p, mean that the hydroxyl group and side chain on the phenyl ring are across from each other (see the illustration below).
The next oxidation step catalyzes by p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase and splitting off CO2 homogentisate (2,5-dihydroxyphenyl-1-acetate). [25] In order to split the aromatic ring of homogentisate, a further dioxygenase, homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase is required. Thereby, through the incorporation of a further O2 molecule, maleylacetoacetate is created.
Fumarylacetoacetate is created by maleylacetoacetate cis-trans-isomerase through rotation of the carboxyl group created from the hydroxyl group via oxidation. This cis-trans-isomerase contains glutathione as a coenzyme. Fumarylacetoacetate is finally split by the enzyme fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase through the addition of a water molecule.
Thereby fumarate (also a metabolite of the citric acid cycle) and acetoacetate (3-ketobutyroate) are liberated. Acetoacetate is a ketone body, which is activated with succinyl-CoA, and thereafter it can be converted into acetyl-CoA, which in turn can be oxidized by the citric acid cycle or be used for fatty acid synthesis.
Phloretic acid is also a urinary metabolite of tyrosine in rats. [26]
Three structural isomers of L-tyrosine are known. In addition to the common amino acid L-tyrosine, which is the para isomer (para-tyr, p-tyr or 4-hydroxyphenylalanine), there are two additional regioisomers, namely meta-tyrosine (also known as 3-hydroxyphenylalanine, L-m-tyrosine, and m-tyr) and ortho-tyrosine (o-tyr or 2-hydroxyphenylalanine), that occur in nature. The m-tyr and o-tyr isomers, which are rare, arise through non-enzymatic free-radical hydroxylation of phenylalanine under conditions of oxidative stress. [27] [28]
Tyrosine is a precursor to neurotransmitters and increases plasma neurotransmitter levels (particularly dopamine and norepinephrine), [29] but has little if any effect on mood in normal subjects. [30] [31] [32]
A 2015 systematic review found that "tyrosine loading acutely counteracts decrements in working memory and information processing that are induced by demanding situational conditions such as extreme weather or cognitive load" and therefore "tyrosine may benefit healthy individuals exposed to demanding situational conditions". [33]
L-tyrosine is used in pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, and food additives. Two methods were formerly used to manufacture L-tyrosine. The first involves the extraction of the desired amino acid from protein hydrolysates using a chemical approach. The second utilizes enzymatic synthesis from phenolics, pyruvate, and ammonia through the use of tyrosine phenol-lyase. [34] Advances in genetic engineering and the advent of industrial fermentation have shifted the synthesis of L-tyrosine to the use of engineered strains of E. coli. [35] [34]
A protein phosphatase is a phosphatase enzyme that removes a phosphate group from the phosphorylated amino acid residue of its substrate protein. Protein phosphorylation is one of the most common forms of reversible protein posttranslational modification (PTM), with up to 30% of all proteins being phosphorylated at any given time. Protein kinases (PKs) are the effectors of phosphorylation and catalyse the transfer of a γ-phosphate from ATP to specific amino acids on proteins. Several hundred PKs exist in mammals and are classified into distinct super-families. Proteins are phosphorylated predominantly on Ser, Thr and Tyr residues, which account for 79.3, 16.9 and 3.8% respectively of the phosphoproteome, at least in mammals. In contrast, protein phosphatases (PPs) are the primary effectors of dephosphorylation and can be grouped into three main classes based on sequence, structure and catalytic function. The largest class of PPs is the phosphoprotein phosphatase (PPP) family comprising PP1, PP2A, PP2B, PP4, PP5, PP6 and PP7, and the protein phosphatase Mg2+- or Mn2+-dependent (PPM) family, composed primarily of PP2C. The protein Tyr phosphatase (PTP) super-family forms the second group, and the aspartate-based protein phosphatases the third. The protein pseudophosphatases form part of the larger phosphatase family, and in most cases are thought to be catalytically inert, instead functioning as phosphate-binding proteins, integrators of signalling or subcellular traps. Examples of membrane-spanning protein phosphatases containing both active (phosphatase) and inactive (pseudophosphatase) domains linked in tandem are known, conceptually similar to the kinase and pseudokinase domain polypeptide structure of the JAK pseudokinases. A complete comparative analysis of human phosphatases and pseudophosphatases has been completed by Manning and colleagues, forming a companion piece to the ground-breaking analysis of the human kinome, which encodes the complete set of ~536 human protein kinases.
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.
3-Dehydroquinic acid (DHQ) is the first carbocyclic intermediate of the shikimate pathway. It is created from 3-deoxyarabinoheptulosonate 7-phosphate, a 7-carbon ulonic acid, by the enzyme DHQ synthase. The mechanism of ring closure is complex, but involves an aldol condensation at C-2 and C-7.
Amino acid biosynthesis is the set of biochemical processes by which the amino acids are produced. The substrates for these processes are various compounds in the organism's diet or growth media. Not all organisms are able to synthesize all amino acids. For example, humans can synthesize 11 of the 20 standard amino acids. These 11 are called the non-essential amino acids.
Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) is an enzyme (EC 1.14.16.4) involved in the synthesis of the monoamine neurotransmitter serotonin. Tyrosine hydroxylase, phenylalanine hydroxylase, and tryptophan hydroxylase together constitute the family of biopterin-dependent aromatic amino acid hydroxylases. TPH catalyzes the following chemical reaction
An aromatic amino acid is an amino acid that includes an aromatic ring.
The enzyme phenylalanine racemase is the enzyme that acts on amino acids and derivatives. It activates both the L & D stereo isomers of phenylalanine to form L-phenylalanyl adenylate and D-phenylalanyl adenylate, which are bound to the enzyme. These bound compounds are then transferred to the thiol group of the enzyme followed by conversion of its configuration, the D-isomer being the more favorable configuration of the two, with a 7 to 3 ratio between the two isomers. The racemisation reaction of phenylalanine is coupled with the highly favorable hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and pyrophosphate (PP), thermodynamically allowing it to proceed. This reaction is then drawn forward by further hydrolyzing PP to inorganic phosphate (Pi), via Le Chatelier's principle.
Tyrosine aminotransferase is an enzyme present in the liver and catalyzes the conversion of tyrosine to 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate.
Fumarylacetoacetase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the FAH gene located on chromosome 15. The enzyme is involved in the catabolism of the amino acid tyrosine in humans.
Tyrosylprotein sulfotransferase is an enzyme that catalyzes tyrosine sulfation.
Prephenate dehydrogenase is an enzyme found in the shikimate pathway, and helps catalyze the reaction from prephenate to tyrosine.
The enzyme UDP-glucose 4-epimerase, also known as UDP-galactose 4-epimerase or GALE, is a homodimeric epimerase found in bacterial, fungal, plant, and mammalian cells. This enzyme performs the final step in the Leloir pathway of galactose metabolism, catalyzing the reversible conversion of UDP-galactose to UDP-glucose. GALE tightly binds nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a co-factor required for catalytic activity.
The enzyme phenylalanine ammonia lyase (EC 4.3.1.24) catalyzes the conversion of L-phenylalanine to ammonia and trans-cinnamic acid.:
In enzymology, glutamate-prephenate aminotransferase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
Shikimate kinase (EC 2.7.1.71) is an enzyme that catalyzes the ATP-dependent phosphorylation of shikimate to form shikimate 3-phosphate. This reaction is the fifth step of the shikimate pathway, which is used by plants and bacteria to synthesize the common precursor of aromatic amino acids and secondary metabolites. The systematic name of this enzyme class is ATP:shikimate 3-phosphotransferase. Other names in common use include shikimate kinase (phosphorylating), and shikimate kinase II.
A non-receptor tyrosine kinase (nRTK) is a cytosolic enzyme that is responsible for catalysing the transfer of a phosphate group from a nucleoside triphosphate donor, such as ATP, to tyrosine residues in proteins. Non-receptor tyrosine kinases are a subgroup of protein family tyrosine kinases, enzymes that can transfer the phosphate group from ATP to a tyrosine residue of a protein (phosphorylation). These enzymes regulate many cellular functions by switching on or switching off other enzymes in a cell.
Biopterin-dependent aromatic amino acid hydroxylases (AAAH) are a family of aromatic amino acid hydroxylase enzymes which includes phenylalanine 4-hydroxylase, tyrosine 3-hydroxylase, and tryptophan 5-hydroxylase. These enzymes primarily hydroxylate the amino acids L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine, and L-tryptophan, respectively.
The shikimate pathway is a seven-step metabolic pathway used by bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, some protozoans, and plants for the biosynthesis of folates and aromatic amino acids. This pathway is not found in mammals.
5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase is an enzyme produced by plants and microorganisms. EPSPS catalyzes the chemical reaction:
Tyrosine phosphorylation is the addition of a phosphate (PO43−) group to the amino acid tyrosine on a protein. It is one of the main types of protein phosphorylation. This transfer is made possible through enzymes called tyrosine kinases. Tyrosine phosphorylation is a key step in signal transduction and the regulation of enzymatic activity.