CYP27C1 (cytochrome P450, family 27, subfamily C, polypeptide 1) is a
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''CYP27C1'' gene.
This gene encodes a member of the
cytochrome P450
Cytochromes P450 (CYPs) are a Protein superfamily, superfamily of enzymes containing heme as a cofactor (biochemistry), cofactor that functions as monooxygenases. In mammals, these proteins oxidize steroids, fatty acids, and xenobiotics, and are ...
superfamily of enzymes. The cytochrome P450 proteins are
monooxygenase
Monooxygenases are enzymes that incorporate one hydroxyl group (−OH) into substrates in many metabolic pathways. In this reaction, the two atoms of dioxygen are reduced to one hydroxyl group and one H2O molecule by the concomitant oxidation o ...
s which catalyze many reactions involved in drug metabolism and synthesis of cholesterol, steroids and other lipids.
The main function of the CYP27C1 enzyme is conversion of vitamin A
1 (all-''trans'' retinol) to vitamin A
2 (all-''trans'' 3,4-dehydroretinal).
Function
CYP27C1 catalyzes 3,4-desaturation of retinoids, particularly all-''trans''-retinol (vitamin A
1) to all-''trans'' 3,4-dehydroretinal (vitamin A
2). The enzyme is unusual among mammalian P450s in that the predominant oxidation is a desaturation and in that hydroxylation represents only a minor pathway - the enzyme catalyzes 3- and 4-hydroxylation as minor events. The enzyme is located in human skin epidermis.
The function of the enzyme was only discovered in 2016. Before that, it was considered an "orphan" enzyme.
An orphan enzyme is an enzyme activity that has been experimentally characterized but for which there is no known amino-acid or nucleotide sequence data.
Popular culture
CYP27C1 is the topic of the comic
Sherman's lagoon
''Sherman's Lagoon'' is a daily comic strip by Jim Toomey that is widely syndicated in newspapers worldwide after its first appearance in the '' Escondido Times-Advocate'' of Escondido, California, on May 13, 1991.
The story of Sherman's Lagoo ...
for May 26, 2016.
In response to Hawthorne's inquiry about the chemical, Ernest explains that it is an enzyme that enhances ability to see infrared light, allowing fish to see better in murky waters. Ernest can see however that Hawthorne is more interested in how to synthesize it commercially.
References
Further reading
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External links
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