Module 5 Flashcards
- are complex chemical compounds that are large heterocyclic organic ring structures
- are composed of four modified pyrrole (5- membered organic ring) subunits connected by methine (=CH-) bridges
Porphyrins
- The naturally occurring porphyrins of biological significance are the hemes
- serves as prosthetic group of many proteins involved in fundamental biological processes like respiration, photosynthesis, and the metabolism and transport of oxygen
- Synthesized in most organisms via a highly conserved biosynthetic route
- Produced in virtually all mammalian tissues
Heme
- Cofactor
- Consists of a porphyrin (protoporphyrin IX)
- Iron (Fe++) chelate in the center
- Conjugated (alternating) double bonds absorb light»_space; a color
- A tightly bound prosthetic group of hemoglobin, myoglobin, the cytochromes, and other proteins
- Bound to its apoproteins
– Noncovalently: HEMOGLOBIN, MYOGLOBIN
– Covalently: CYTOCHROME C
Heme
Heme-containing proteins
• Hemoglobin • Myoglobin • Enzymes – Catalases – Peroxidases – Tryptophan pyrrolase – Prostaglandin synthase – Guanylate cyclase – NO synthase – Mitochondrial cytochromes
Sources of heme:
– Endogenous synthesis
• Bone marrow
• Liver
– Intestinal absorption of dietary heme
Synthesis sites
• Marrow
– 70-80% heme synthesis, mostly in erythroblasts
and proerythroblasts
• Liver
– second most important site of heme synthesis
– High content of cytochrome p450
Heme biosynthesis
• The heme biosynthetic pathway and its subcellular compartmentation are probably identical in all mammalian cells
• 8 enzymes: 4 cytoplasmic, 4 mitochondrial
• Compartmentalized
– Initial and last three enzymes: mitochondrial
– Intermediate steps: cytosol
– Significance? Heme regulates ALA synthase (rate limiting step)
Three divisions of heme biosynthesis
- Formation of the precursor molecule ALA
- Formation of the first cyclic tetrapyrrole uroporphyrinogen III
- Conversion of uroporphyrinogen III into heme
Formation of the precursor molecule ALA (Aminolevulinic Acid)
- First and rate-limiting reaction: condensation of glycine and succinyl-CoA to 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)
- ALA represents the sole source of carbon and nitrogen atoms necessary for heme formation
Formation of the precursor molecule ALA
• Catalyzed by two different ALA synthases
(cofactor: PYRIDOXAL 5-PHOSPHATE)
– expressed ubiquitously (ALAS1)
– expressed only in erythroid precursors (ALAS2)
- The next four biosynthetic steps take place in the cytosol
- ALA dehydratase (ALAD) converts two molecules of ALA to a monopyrrol porphobilinogen (PBG)
- Two subsequent enzymatic steps convert four molecules of PBG into the cyclic tetrapyrrole uroporphyrinogen III, which is then decarboxylated to form coproporphyrinogen III
Formation of the first cyclic tetrapyrrole uroporphyrinogen III
The fate of ALA
• Following its synthesis, ALA exits the mitochondria by an unknown mechanism
• Once in the cytosol, two molecules of ALA form the monopyrrole porphobilinogen by a condensation reaction catalyzed by aminolevulinate dehydratase (ALAD)
(cofactor: zinc)
The next step in the pathway involves the head-to-tail
condensation of four molecules of porphobilinogen to produce the linear tetrapyrrole intermediate, __.
hydroxymethylbilane
The most important fate of __ is the regulated, enzymatic conversion to uroporphyrinogen III, the next intermediate on the path to heme
hydroxymethylbilane
- catalyzes the terminal step of heme biosynthesis, namely the insertion of ferrous iron into protoporphyrin IX
Ferrochelatase
Heme biosynthesis in a nutshell
• The first step occurs in the mitochondria and involves the condensation of succinyl CoA and glycine to form 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), catalyzed by ALA synthase
(ALA-S)
• The next four biosynthetic steps take place in the cytosol. ALA dehydratase (ALA-D) converts two molecules of ALA to a monopyrrol porphobilinogen (PBG). Two subsequent enzymatic steps convert four molecules of PBG into the cyclic tetrapyrrole uroporphyrinogen III, which is then decarboxylated to form coproporphyrinogen III
• The final three steps of the biosynthetic pathway,
including the insertion of ferrous iron into protoporphyrin
IX by ferrochelatase, occur in the mitochondria
Type: X-linked sideroblastic anemia (erythropoietic)
Major signs and symptoms: Anemia
Lab Test Result: Red cell counts and hemoglobin
decreased
ALA synthase 2 (ALAS2)
Type: ALA dehydratase deficiency (hepatic)
Major signs and symptoms: Abdominal pain, neuropsychiatric symptoms
Lab Test Result: Urinary ALA and coproporphyrin III increased
ALA dehydratase
Type: Acute intermittent porphyria (hepatic)
Major signs and symptoms: Abdominal pain, neuropsychiatric symptoms
Lab Test Result: Urinary ALA and PBG increased
Uroporphyrinogen I synthase
Type: Congenital erythropoietic (erythropoietic)
Major signs and symptoms: Photosensitivity Urinary, fecal, and red cell
Lab test Result: uroporphyrin I increased
Uroporphyrinogen III synthase
Type: Porphyria cutanea tarda (hepatic)
Major s/sx: Photosensitivity
Lab Test Result: Urinary uroporphyrin I increased
Uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase
Type: Hereditary coproporphyria (hepatic)
Major s/sx: Photosensitivity, abdominal pain, neuropsychiatric symptoms
Lab Test Result: Urinary ALA, PBG, and coproporphyrin III and fecal coproporphyrin III increased
Coproporphyrinogen oxidase
Type: Variegate porphyria (hepatic)
Major s/sx: Photosensitivity, abdominal pain, neuropsychiatric symptoms
Lab Test Result: Urinary ALA, PBG, and coproporphyrin III and fecal protoporphyrin IX increased
Protoporphyrinogen oxidase
Type: Protoporphyria (erythropoietic)
Major s/sx: Photosensitivity
Lab Test Result: Fecal and red cell protoporphyrin IX increased
Ferrochelatase