Enzymology Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...

, a dUTP diphosphatase () is an

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...

that

catalyzes Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

the

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the IUPAC nomenclature for organic transformations, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the pos ...

:dUTP + H₂O

\rightleftharpoons

dUMP + diphosphate Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are dUTP and H₂O, whereas its two products are

dUMP Dump generally refers to a place for disposal of solid waste, a rubbish dump, or landfill. The word has other uses alone or in combination, and may refer to: * Midden, historically a dump for domestic waste * Dump job, a term for criminal disposal ...

and diphosphate. This enzyme belongs to the family of hydrolases, specifically those acting on acid anhydrides in phosphorus-containing anhydrides. The systematic name of this enzyme class is dUTP nucleotidohydrolase. Other names in common use include deoxyuridine-triphosphatase, dUTPase, dUTP pyrophosphatase, desoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase, and desoxyuridine 5'-triphosphatase. This enzyme participates in

pyrimidine metabolism Pyrimidine biosynthesis occurs both in the body and through organic synthesis. ''De novo'' biosynthesis of pyrimidine ''De Novo'' biosynthesis of a pyrimidine is catalyzed by three gene products CAD, DHODH and UMPS. The first three enzymes of ...

. This enzyme has a dual function: on one hand, it removes dUTP from the

deoxynucleotide A deoxyribonucleotide is a nucleotide that contains deoxyribose. They are the monomeric units of the informational biopolymer, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Each deoxyribonucleotide comprises three parts: a deoxyribose sugar (monosaccharide), a nitr ...

pool, which reduces the probability of this base being incorporated into DNA by

DNA polymerase A DNA polymerase is a member of a family of enzymes that catalyze the synthesis of DNA molecules from nucleoside triphosphates, the molecular precursors of DNA. These enzymes are essential for DNA replication and usually work in groups to create ...

s, while on the other hand, it produces the dTTP precursor dUMP. Lack or inhibition of dUTPase action leads to harmful perturbations in the nucleotide pool resulting in increased uracil content of DNA that activates a hyperactive futile cycle of DNA repair.

Structural studies

As of late 2007, 48 structures have been solved for this class of enzymes, with PDB accession codes , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . There are at least two structurally distinct families of dUTPases. The

crystal structure In crystallography, crystal structure is a description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions or molecules in a crystal, crystalline material. Ordered structures occur from the intrinsic nature of the constituent particles to form symmetric pat ...

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

dUTPase reveals that each subunit of the dUTPase trimer

fold Fold, folding or foldable may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Fold'' (album), the debut release by Australian rock band Epicure *Fold (poker), in the game of poker, to discard one's hand and forfeit interest in the current pot *Above ...

s into an eight-stranded jelly-roll beta barrel, with the C-terminal

beta strands Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; grc, βῆτα, bē̂ta or ell, βήτα, víta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Modern Greek, it represents the voiced labio ...

interchanged among the subunits. The

structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

is similar to that of the ''

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...

'' enzyme, despite low

sequence homology Sequence homology is the biological homology between DNA, RNA, or protein sequences, defined in terms of shared ancestry in the evolutionary history of life. Two segments of DNA can have shared ancestry because of three phenomena: either a spe ...

between the two

enzymes Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecule ...

. The second family has a novel all-alpha

, members of this family are unrelated to the all-beta

found in dUTPases of the majority of

organism In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and ...

Structural studies

See also

References

Further reading