Development of tyrosine aminotransferase and para-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase activities in fetal and neonatal human liver.
(41/55)
In livers of fetuses of 220--340 g body wt, total cytosolic tyrosine aminotransferase activity was 1.0 nmol of product/mg of protein per min, and the corresponding values for autopsy livers of newborns of 740--1,475 g and 2,600--3,650 g were 1.5 and 5.7, respectively, as compared with the adult value of 12.7. On the other hand, para-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase activity is at adult level already in fetuses less than 340 g body wt. The Km value for tyrosine of tyrosine aminotransferase (1 mM) was considerably higher than the corresponding value for para-hydroxyphenylpyruvate of para-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (50 micro M). These results suggest that tyrosine aminotransferase is the rate limiting enzyme in the catabolism of tyrosine in premature infants. (+info)
Some kinetic properties of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. strain P.J. 874.
(42/55)
Steady-state kinetic properties of purified 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. strain P.J. 874 were examined by a 14CO2 method at pH 7.5 and 37 degrees C. The results conform to a mono-iso-ordered bi-bi mechanism with binding of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate before O2 and release of CO2 before homogentisate. A Theorell-Chance mechanism can not be excluded. The apparent DV and DV/Km ratios were about 1.1 and 1.2, respectively, for 4-hydroxy[2,6-2H2]phenylpyruvate when the initial O2 consumption was measured. The stoichiometry between the consumption of O2 and the formation of homogentisate and CO2 was 1:1:1. Loss of hydrogen at C2 or C6 of the ring of the substrate is thus not the rate-limiting step during the reaction. Instead, this appears to be the conversion of an isomerized enzyme form. (+info)
Blue color, metal content, and substrate binding in 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. strain P. J. 874.
(43/55)
Purified preparations of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. strain P. J. 874 are blue, epsilon 595-850 approximately 2.6 +/- 0.5 (n = 6) mM-1 cm-1. Iron and zinc were the only metals detected by x-ray fluorescence of an enzyme preparation and the mean content in different preparation as determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy was 0.95 +/- 0.17 (n = 6) and 0.68 +/- 0.27 (n = 7) mol/mol 150-kilodalton tetramer, respectively. It is yet unclear if zinc is a contaminant or may be given a structural role. Results with iron chelators and reductants showed that the 595-nm absorbance is linked to enzyme-bound Fe3+ and that reduction of iron, which occurs concomitantly with disappearance of the color, is required for enzyme activity. The enol tautomer of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate appeared to form 2:1 a complex with enzyme-bound Fe3+, which may be the cause of the long known substrate inhibition of the enzyme. Iron chelation also seemed to be involved in the inhibition by other substrate analogues, i.e. substituted catechols and those with one phenolic hydroxyl group in ortho position to short carboxylic acid side chains. Together, substrate analogue, pH, and modification studies indicated that the tautomerizable keto group with a double bond in 3-4 position favors productive substrate binding to Fe2+ and a base with a pK alpha of approximately 6.4. (+info)
Homogentisic acid is the primary precursor of melanin synthesis in Vibrio cholerae, a Hyphomonas strain, and Shewanella colwelliana.
(44/55)
The enzyme p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate hydroxylase (HPPH) is involved in pigmentation (pyomelanin) via homogentisic acid (HGA). Pyomelanin formation is correlated with HGA production and expression of HPPH in three disparate marine species: Vibrio cholerae, a Hyphomonas strain, and Shewanella colwelliana. Induction of pigmentation in V. cholerae 569B by nutrient limitation also correlated with production of HGA. (+info)
A Streptomyces avermitilis gene encoding a 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid dioxygenase-like protein that directs the production of homogentisic acid and an ochronotic pigment in Escherichia coli.
(45/55)
A 1.5-kb genomic fragment isolated from Streptomyces avermitilis that directs the synthesis of a brown pigment in Escherichia coli was characterized. Since pigment production in recombinant E. coli was enhanced by the addition of tyrosine to the medium, it had been inferred that the cloned DNA might be associated with melanin biosynthesis. Hybridization studies, however, showed that the pigment gene isolated from S. avermitilis was unrelated to the Streptomyces antibioticus melC2 determinant, which is the prototype of melanin genes in Streptomyces spp. Sequence analysis of the 1.5-kb DNA that caused pigment production revealed a single open reading frame encoding a protein of 41.6 kDa (380 amino acids) that resembled several prokaryotic and eukaryotic 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenases (HPDs). When this open reading frame was overexpressed in E. coli, a protein of about 41 kDa was detected. This E. coli clone produced homogentisic acid (HGA), which is the expected product of the oxidation of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate catalyzed by an HPD, and also a brown pigment with characteristics similar to the pigment observed in the urine of alkaptonuric patients. Alkaptonuria is a genetic disease in which inability to metabolize HGA leads to increasing concentrations of this acid in urine, followed by oxidation and polymerization of HGA to an ochronotic pigment. Similarly, the production of ochronotic-like pigment in the recombinant E. coli clone overexpressing the S. avermitilis gene encoding HPD is likely to be due to the spontaneous oxidation and polymerization of the HGA accumulated in the medium by this clone. (+info)
Homogentisic acid is the product of MelA, which mediates melanogenesis in the marine bacterium Shewanella colwelliana D.
(46/55)
Shewanella colwelliana D is a marine procaryote which produces a diffusible brown pigment that correlates with melA gene expression. Previously, melA had been cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Escherichia coli; however, the reaction product of MelA had not been identified. This report identifies that product as homogentisic acid, provides evidence that the pigment is homogentisic acid-melanin (pyomelanin), and suggests that MelA is p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate hydroxylase. This is the first report of pyomelanin in an obligate marine bacterium. (+info)
SC-0051, a 2-benzoyl-cyclohexane-1,3-dione bleaching herbicide, is a potent inhibitor of the enzyme p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase.
(47/55)
Growth inhibition of Lemna gibba plantlets by the bleaching herbicide, SC-0051 (2-(2-chloro-4-methanesulfonylbenzoyl)-1,3-cyclohexanedione)) was alleviated by the addition of homogentisic acid to the growth medium. Homogentisic acid is a key intermediate in the biosynthesis of tyrosine-derived plant quinones as well as in tyrosine metabolism. The herbicide prevented the incorporation of radioactivity from [14C]tyrosine into lipophilic plant metabolites and, in rat liver extracts, the herbicide inhibited the conversion of tyrosine to homogentisic acid. The enzyme p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (EC 1.13.11.27) from both Zea mays seedlings and liver tissues, was found to be subject to strong inhibition by SC-0051. Inhibition of plant quinone biosynthesis is a new mode of herbicidal action. One of the consequences of quinone depletion in plants by SC-0051. Inhibition of plant quinone biosynthesis is a new mode of herbicidal action. One of the consequences of quinone depletion in plants in vivo is apparently an indirect inhibition of phytoene desaturation. The enzyme phytoene desaturase itself, however, is not afflicted by the herbicide. (+info)
Peripheral neuropathy as the presenting feature of tyrosinaemia type I and effectively treated with an inhibitor of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase.
(48/55)
A 21 month old girl presented with a short history of frequent falls and a right sided foot drop. She went on to suffer recurrent episodes of distal weakness in her arms and legs with hyporeflexia. Electrophysiological studies were consistent with inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (IDP) and treatment with corticosteroids appeared to lead to an improvement. However, the development of hypertension, evidence of tubulopathy, and hepatomegaly led to re-evaluation. A diagnosis of type I tyrosinaemia was made, based on increased urinary excretion of succinylacetone and decreased activity of fumarylacetoacetase in her cultured skin fibroblasts. A low tyrosine diet did not prevent life-threatening exacerbations of neuropathy but intravenous haemarginate appeared to aid her recovery from one exacerbation. An immediate improvement in strength was seen after starting treatment with 2-(2-nitro-4-trifluoro-methyl-benzoyl)-1,3-cyclohexanedione (NTBC), an inhibitor of 4-hydroxy-phenylpyruvate dioxygenase. A liver transplant was performed but the patient died of immediate postoperative complications. Tyrosinaemia needs to be considered in a child with recurrent peripheral neuropathy because (i) the signs of liver disease and renal tubular dysfunction may be subtle; (ii) acute exacerbations may be life threatening; (iii) specific forms of treatment are available. (+info)