3-Methylglutaconyl-CoA hydratase, also known as MG-CoA hydratase and AUH, 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 ...

() encoded by the ''AUH''

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

chromosome 19 Chromosome 19 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. People normally have two copies of this chromosome. Chromosome 19 spans more than 58.6 million base pairs, the building material of DNA. It is considered the most gene-rich chromosome ...

. It is a member of the enoyl-CoA hydratase/isomerase superfamily, but it is the only member of that family that is able to bind to

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. RNA and deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) are nucleic acids. Along with lipids, proteins, and carbohydra ...

. Not only does it bind to RNA, AUH has also been observed to be involved in the

metabolic Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...

enzymatic activity, making it a dual-role

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 ...

Mutations In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mi ...

of this gene have been found to cause a disease called 3-Methylglutaconic Acuduria Type 1.

Structure

The enzyme AUH has a

molecular mass The molecular mass (''m'') is the mass of a given molecule: it is measured in daltons (Da or u). Different molecules of the same compound may have different molecular masses because they contain different isotopes of an element. The related quanti ...

of 32

kDa The dalton or unified atomic mass unit (symbols: Da or u) is a non-SI unit of mass widely used in physics and chemistry. It is defined as of the mass of an unbound neutral atom of carbon-12 in its nuclear and electronic ground state and at re ...

and the AUH gene consists of 18

exons An exon is any part of a gene that will form a part of the final mature RNA produced by that gene after introns have been removed by RNA splicing. The term ''exon'' refers to both the DNA sequence within a gene and to the corresponding sequence ...

, is 1.7 kb long, and is mainly found in

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

skeletal muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscl ...

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

, and

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

cells. AUH has a similar fold that is found in other members of the enoyl-CoA hydratase/isomerase family; however, it is a

hexamer In chemistry and biochemistry, an oligomer () is a molecule that consists of a few repeating units which could be derived, actually or conceptually, from smaller molecules, monomers.Quote: ''Oligomer molecule: A molecule of intermediate relative ...

as a

dimer Dimer may refer to: * Dimer (chemistry), a chemical structure formed from two similar sub-units ** Protein dimer, a protein quaternary structure ** d-dimer * Dimer model, an item in statistical mechanics, based on ''domino tiling'' * Julius Dimer ...

of trimers. Also unlike other members of its family, AUH's surface is positively charged in contrast to the negative charge seen on that of other classes. Between the two trimers of the enzyme, wide clefts were seen with a highly positive charge and lysine residues in

alpha helix The alpha helix (α-helix) is a common motif in the secondary structure of proteins and is a right hand-helix conformation in which every backbone N−H group hydrogen bonds to the backbone C=O group of the amino acid located four residues e ...

H1. These

lysine Lysine (symbol Lys or K) is an α-amino acid that is a precursor to many proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated form under biological conditions), an α-carboxylic acid group (which is in the deprotonated −C ...

residues were shown to be the main reason why AUH is able to bind to RNA rather than its counterparts. Moreover, it has been found that the

oligomeric In chemistry and biochemistry, an oligomer () is a molecule that consists of a few repeating units which could be derived, actually or conceptually, from smaller molecules, monomers.Quote: ''Oligomer molecule: A molecule of intermediate relativ ...

state of AUH depends on whether or not RNA is present. If RNA is near, the AUH will take on an asymmetric shape that loses the 3- and 2-fold

crystallographic Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in crystalline solids. Crystallography is a fundamental subject in the fields of materials science and solid-state physics (condensed matter physics). The word ...

rotation axes, because of realignment of the internal 3-fold axes of the trimers. Because this enzyme has weak, short-chain

enoyl-CoA hydratase Enoyl-CoA hydratase (ECH) or crotonase is an enzyme that hydrates the double bond between the second and third carbons on 2-trans/cis-enoyl-CoA: ECH is essential to metabolizing fatty acids in beta oxidation to produce both acetyl CoA and e ...

activity, AUH also has a hydrase active-site pocket created by H2A-H3 alpha-helices and the H4A 310 helix of one subunit, and the H8 and H9 alpha-helices of the adjacent subunit within the same trimer. This active-site pocket is not affected by the change in oligomeric state when AUH is in the presence of RNA.

Function

AUH is seen to

catalyze 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 transformation of

3-methylglutaconyl-CoA 3-Methylglutaconyl-CoA (MG-CoA), also known as β-methylglutaconyl-CoA, is an intermediate in the metabolism of leucine. It is metabolized into HMG-CoA. Leucine metabolism See also * Methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase * Methylglutaconyl-CoA hydrat ...

to 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA in the

leucine Leucine (symbol Leu or L) is an essential amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. Leucine is an α-amino acid, meaning it contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated −NH3+ form under biological conditions), an α- ca ...

catabolism Catabolism () is the set of metabolic pathways that breaks down molecules into smaller units that are either oxidized to release energy or used in other anabolic reactions. Catabolism breaks down large molecules (such as polysaccharides, lipids, ...

pathway. Localized in the mitochondria, AUH is responsible for the fifth step in the leucine degradation pathway and deficiencies in this enzyme's activity leads to a metabolic block in which 3-methylglutaconyl-CoA, accumulates in the

mitochondrial matrix In the mitochondrion, the matrix is the space within the inner membrane. The word "matrix" stems from the fact that this space is viscous, compared to the relatively aqueous cytoplasm. The mitochondrial matrix contains the mitochondrial DNA, ribo ...

. Also, these

reductions Reductions ( es, reducciones, also called ; , pl. ) were settlements created by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such redu ...

in the enzyme's activity leads to increases in 3-methylglutaric acid and 3-hydroxyisovaleric acid. Another function of AUH is that it binds to an

AU-rich element Adenylate-uridylate-rich elements (AU-rich elements; AREs) are found in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of many messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that code for proto-oncogenes, nuclear transcription factors, and cytokines. AREs are one of the most common de ...

(ARE), containing clusters of the penta-

nucleotide Nucleotides are organic molecules consisting of a nucleoside and a phosphate. They serve as monomeric units of the nucleic acid polymers – deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which are essential biomolecules wi ...

AUUUA. AREs have been found in the 3’-untranslated regions of mRNA and they promote mRNA

degradation Degradation may refer to: Science * Degradation (geology), lowering of a fluvial surface by erosion * Degradation (telecommunications), of an electronic signal * Biodegradation of organic substances by living organisms * Environmental degradatio ...

. By binding with ARE, AUH has been suggested to play a role in

neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. N ...

survival and transcript stability. AUH is also responsible for regulating mitochondrial

protein synthesis Protein biosynthesis (or protein synthesis) is a core biological process, occurring inside Cell (biology), cells, homeostasis, balancing the loss of cellular proteins (via Proteolysis, degradation or Protein targeting, export) through the product ...

and is essential for mitochondrial RNA

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...

biogenesis Spontaneous generation is a superseded scientific theory that held that living creatures could arise from nonliving matter and that such processes were commonplace and regular. It was hypothesized that certain forms, such as fleas, could arise ...

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

, and function. Decreased levels of AUH also lead to slower cell expansion and

cell growth Cell growth refers to an increase in the total mass of a cell, including both cytoplasmic, nuclear and organelle volume. Cell growth occurs when the overall rate of cellular biosynthesis (production of biomolecules or anabolism) is greater than ...

. These functions allow AUH to show us that there could be a potential connection between mitochondrial metabolism and gene regulation. Also, reduced or overexprsessed levels of AUH can lead to defects in mitochondrial translation, ultimately leading up to changes in mitochondrial morphology, decreased RNA stability, biogenesis, and respiratory function.

Clinical significance

The lack of AUH is most impactful to the human body by causing 3-Methylglutaconic Acuduria Type 1, which is an

autosomal recessive disorder An autosome is any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome. The members of an autosome pair in a diploid cell have the same morphology, unlike those in allosomal (sex chromosome) pairs, which may have different structures. The DNA in autosomes ...

of leucine degradation and can range in severity from developmental delay to slowly progressive

leukoencephalopathy Leukoencephalopathy (leukodystrophy-like diseases) is a term that describes all of the brain white matter diseases, whether their molecular cause is known or unknown. It can refer specifically to any of these diseases: * Progressive multifocal leuk ...

in adults. Mutations in the ''AUH'' gene has been seen in 10 different sites (5

missense In genetics, a missense mutation is a point mutation in which a single nucleotide change results in a codon that codes for a different amino acid. It is a type of nonsynonymous substitution. Substitution of protein from DNA mutations Missense mu ...

, 3 splicing, 1 single nucleotide deletion and 1 single nucleotide duplication) and are present in certain patients who have the disorder. Deletions of exons 1–3 in the gene suggest that these exons are responsible for the biochemical and clinical characteristics of 3-Methylglutaconic Acuduria Type 1. These mutations cause for the deficiency of 3-methylglutaconyl-CoA hydratase which leads to the amalgamation of 3-methylglutaconyl-CoA, 3-methylglutaric acid, and 3-hydroxyisovaleric acid which eventually leads to 3-Methylglutaconic Acuduria Type 1.

Structure

Function

Clinical significance

Interactions

References

External links