Coproporphyrinogen-III oxidase, mitochondrial (abbreviated as CPOX) 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 ''CPOX''

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 ...

. A genetic defect in the enzyme results in a reduced production of

heme Heme (American English), or haem (Commonwealth English, both pronounced /Help:IPA/English, hi:m/ ), is a ring-shaped iron-containing molecule that commonly serves as a Ligand (biochemistry), ligand of various proteins, more notably as a Prostheti ...

in animals. The medical condition associated with this enzyme defect is called hereditary coproporphyria. CPOX, the sixth enzyme of the haem biosynthetic pathway, converts coproporphyrinogen III to

protoporphyrinogen IX Protoporphyrinogen IX is an organic compound, organic chemical compound which is produced along the synthesis of porphyrins, a class of critical biochemicals that include hemoglobin and chlorophyll. It is a direct precursor of protoporphyrin IX. ...

through two sequential steps of oxidative

decarboxylation Decarboxylation is a chemical reaction that removes a carboxyl group and releases carbon dioxide (CO2). Usually, decarboxylation refers to a reaction of carboxylic acids, removing a carbon atom from a carbon chain. The reverse process, which is ...

. The activity of the CPOX enzyme, located in the

mitochondrial membrane A mitochondrion () is an organelle found in the cells of most eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used ...

, is measured in

lymphocytes A lymphocyte is a type of white blood cell (leukocyte) in the immune system of most vertebrates. Lymphocytes include T cells (for cell-mediated and cytotoxic adaptive immunity), B cells (for humoral, antibody-driven adaptive immunity), and ...

Function

CPOX is an enzyme involved in the sixth step of porphyrin metabolism it catalyses the oxidative

of coproporphyrinogen III to proto-porphyrinogen IX in the haem and

chlorophyll Chlorophyll is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words (, "pale green") and (, "leaf"). Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy ...

biosynthetic pathways. 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 ...

is a homodimer containing two internally bound

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...

s per

molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by Force, attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemi ...

of native protein. The

is active in the presence of molecular oxygen that acts as an

electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

acceptor. The enzyme is widely distributed having been found in a variety of

eukaryotic The eukaryotes ( ) constitute the Domain (biology), domain of Eukaryota or Eukarya, organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a membrane-bound cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, seaweeds, and many unicellular organisms ...

and

prokaryotic A prokaryote (; less commonly spelled procaryote) is a single-celled organism whose cell lacks a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles. The word ''prokaryote'' comes from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'before', and (), meaning 'nut' ...

sources.

Structure

Gene

Human CPOX is a mitochondrial enzyme encoded by a 14 kb CPOX gene containing seven

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 i ...

located on

chromosome 3 Chromosome 3 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. People normally have two copies of this chromosome. Chromosome 3 spans more than 201 million base pairs (the building material of DNA) and represents about 6.5 percent of the total DNA ...

at q11.2.

Protein

CPOX is expressed as a 40 kDa precursor and contains an amino terminal mitochondrial targeting signal. After

proteolytic Proteolysis is the breakdown of proteins into smaller polypeptides or amino acids. Protein degradation is a major regulatory mechanism of gene expression and contributes substantially to shaping mammalian proteomes. Uncatalysed, the hydrolysis o ...

processing, the protein is present as a mature form of a

homodimer In biochemistry, a protein dimer is a macromolecular complex or protein multimer, multimer formed by two protein monomers, or single proteins, which are usually Non-covalent interaction, non-covalently bound. Many macromolecules, such as proteins ...

with a molecular mass of 37 kDa.

Clinical significance

Hereditary coproporphyria (HCP) and harderoporphyria are two phenotypically separate disorders that concern partial deficiency of CPOX. Neurovisceral symptomatology predominates in HCP. Additionally, it may be associated with abdominal pain and/or skin photosensitivity. Hyper-excretion of coproporphyrin III in

urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and many other animals. In placental mammals, urine flows from the Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder and exits the urethra through the penile meatus (mal ...

and

faeces Feces (also known as faeces American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, or fæces; : faex) are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the ...

has been recorded in biochemical tests. HCP is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder, whereas harderoporphyria is a rare erythropoietic variant form of HCP and is inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion. Clinically, it is characterized by neonatal haemolytic

anaemia Anemia (also spelt anaemia in British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen. This can be due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin availab ...

. Sometimes, the presence of skin lesions with marked faecal excretion of harderoporphyrin is also described in harderoporphyric patients. To date, over 50 CPOX mutations causing HCP have been described. Most of these mutations result in substitution of

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

residues within the structural framework of CPOX. At least 32 of these mutations are considered to be disease-causing mutations. In terms of the molecular basis of HCP and harderoporphyria, mutations of CPOX in patients with harderoporphyria were demonstrated in the region of exon 6, where mutations in those with HCP were also identified. As only patients with mutation in this region (K404E) would develop harderoporphyria, this mutation led to diminishment of the second step of the

reaction during the conversion of coproporphyrinogen to protoporphyrinogen, implying that the active site of the enzyme involved in the second step of decarboxylation is located in exon 6.

Interactions

CPOX has been shown to interact with the atypical keto-isocoproporphyrin (KICP) in human subjects with mercury (Hg) exposure.

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017 Protein families