Biomaterial Database

Decarboxylation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) by erythrocytes: a reaction promoted by methemoglobin and other ferriheme proteins. 1972

S S Tate, and J Orlando, and A Meister

The decarboxylation of DOPA by erythrocyte hemolysates differs from DOPA decarboxylation catalyzed by aromatic aminoacid decarboxylases that contain vitamin B(6) in several significant respects. The ability of erythrocyte hemolysates to decarboxylate DOPA is associated with interaction between DOPA and methemoglobin; the ferriheme protein is reduced and DOPA is decarboxylated, probably after oxidation to a quinone intermediate. An analogous reaction takes place between DOPA and other ferriheme proteins, such as metmyoglobin and cytochrome c. This phenomenon may be of significance in relation to the side effects observed in patients with Parkinson's disease who are treated with very large doses of DOPA.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007668	Kidney	Body organ that filters blood for the secretion of URINE and that regulates ion concentrations.	Kidneys
D008099	Liver	A large lobed glandular organ in the abdomen of vertebrates that is responsible for detoxification, metabolism, synthesis and storage of various substances.	Livers
D008706	Methemoglobin		Ferrihemoglobin
D009211	Myoglobin	A conjugated protein which is the oxygen-transporting pigment of muscle. It is made up of one globin polypeptide chain and one heme group.
D010084	Oxidation-Reduction	A chemical reaction in which an electron is transferred from one molecule to another. The electron-donating molecule is the reducing agent or reductant; the electron-accepting molecule is the oxidizing agent or oxidant. Reducing and oxidizing agents function as conjugate reductant-oxidant pairs or redox pairs (Lehninger, Principles of Biochemistry, 1982, p471).	Redox,Oxidation Reduction
D010544	Peroxidases		Ovoperoxidase
D002247	Carbon Isotopes	Stable carbon atoms that have the same atomic number as the element carbon but differ in atomic weight. C-13 is a stable carbon isotope.	Carbon Isotope,Isotope, Carbon,Isotopes, Carbon
D002621	Chemistry	A basic science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter; and the reactions that occur between substances and the associated energy exchange.
D002854	Chromatography, Paper	An analytical technique for resolution of a chemical mixture into its component compounds. Compounds are separated on an adsorbent paper (stationary phase) by their varied degree of solubility/mobility in the eluting solvent (mobile phase).	Paper Chromatography,Chromatographies, Paper,Paper Chromatographies
D003580	Cytochromes	Hemeproteins whose characteristic mode of action involves transfer of reducing equivalents which are associated with a reversible change in oxidation state of the prosthetic group. Formally, this redox change involves a single-electron, reversible equilibrium between the Fe(II) and Fe(III) states of the central iron atom (From Enzyme Nomenclature, 1992, p539). The various cytochrome subclasses are organized by the type of HEME and by the wavelength range of their reduced alpha-absorption bands.	Cytochrome