D-amino acids in the brain: structure and function of pyridoxal phosphate-dependent amino acid racemases.
D-serine serves as a co-agonist of the N-methyl D-aspartate receptor in mammalian brains, and its behavior is probably related to neurological disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. D-Serine is synthesized by a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent serine racemase. In this minireview, we provide a detailed discussion on the reaction mechanism of the PLP-dependent amino acid racemase on the basis of its 3D structure. We compared the eukaryotic serine racemase with bacterial alanine racemase, the best-studied enzyme among the PLP-dependent amino acid racemases, and thus suggested a putative reaction mechanism for mammalian D-serine synthesis.
Yoshimura
Tohru
T
Department of Applied Molecular Biosciences, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. yosimura@agr.nagoya-u.ac.jp
Goto
Masaru
M
D000411:Alanine Racemase / Q000737:chemistry*; D000591:Amino Acid Isomerases / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology; D007536:Isomerism; D011732:Pyridoxal Phosphate / Q000737:chemistry*; D019998:Racemases and Epimerases / Q000737:chemistry*; D012694:Serine / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D000099300:Serine Racemase
D000411:Alanine Racemase; D000591:Amino Acid Isomerases; D011732:Pyridoxal Phosphate; D019998:Racemases and Epimerases; D012694:Serine; D000099300:Serine Racemase; C019749:aspartate racemase