Argininosuccinate synthetase is an
enzyme
An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''ASS1''
gene
In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...
.
The
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...
encoded by this gene
catalyzes
Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...
the penultimate step of the
arginine biosynthetic pathway. There are approximately 10 to 14 copies of this gene including the
pseudogenes
Pseudogenes are nonfunctional segments of DNA that resemble functional genes. Pseudogenes can be formed from both protein-coding genes and non-coding genes. In the case of protein-coding genes, most pseudogenes arise as superfluous copies of fun ...
scattered across the
human genome
The human genome is a complete set of nucleic acid sequences for humans, encoded as the DNA within each of the 23 distinct chromosomes in the cell nucleus. A small DNA molecule is found within individual Mitochondrial DNA, mitochondria. These ar ...
, among which the one located on
chromosome 9
Chromosome 9 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. Humans normally have two copies of this chromosome, as they normally do with all chromosomes. Chromosome 9 spans about 138 million base pairs of nucleic acids (the building blocks of DN ...
appears to be the only functional gene for argininosuccinate synthetase. Two
transcript
Transcript may refer to:
* Transcript (biology), a molecule of RNA transcribed from DNA
* Transcript (education), a copy of a student's permanent academic record
* Transcript (law), a written record of spoken language in court proceedings
* Transc ...
variants encoding the same protein have been found for this gene.
Clinical significance
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, mitosi ...
in the
chromosome 9
Chromosome 9 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. Humans normally have two copies of this chromosome, as they normally do with all chromosomes. Chromosome 9 spans about 138 million base pairs of nucleic acids (the building blocks of DN ...
copy of ASS cause
citrullinemia
Citrullinemia is an autosomal recessive urea cycle disorder that causes ammonia and other toxic substances to accumulate in the blood.Freedberg, et al. (2003). ''Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine''. (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill. .
Two for ...
.
Arginine is considered a non-essential amino acid since normal cells can synthesize it from
citrulline
The organic compound citrulline is an α-amino acid. Its name is derived from '' citrullus'', the Latin word for watermelon. Although named and described by gastroenterologists since the late 19th century, it was first isolated from watermelon in ...
and
aspartate
Aspartic acid (symbol Asp or D; the ionic form is known as aspartate), is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. The L-isomer of aspartic acid is one of the 22 proteinogenic amino acids, i.e., the building blocks of protein ...
using the enzymes argininosuccinate synthase 1 (ASS1) and
argininosuccinate lyase (ASL). Consequently, depleting arginine can be an effective therapeutic approach. Notably, over 70% of tumors show reduced ASS1 transcription, making these cancer cells reliant on external sources of arginine, which forms the basis of arginine-deprivation therapy.
The investigational drug
pegargiminase that degrades arginine is currently in trials for the treatment of ASS1 deficient cancers.
References
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