enzymology 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 ...

, a retinol dehydrogenase (RDH) () 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

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

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemistry, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. When chemical reactions occur, the atoms are rearranged and the reaction is accompanied by an Gibbs free energy, ...

:retinol + NAD⁺

\rightleftharpoons

retinal + NADH + H⁺ Sometimes, in addition to or along with NAD⁺, NADP⁺ can act as a preferred cofactor in the reaction as well. The substrate of the enzyme can be all-''trans''- or -''cis''- retinol. Some 20 enzymes with RDH activity had been found and studied by 2006. Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are

retinol Retinol, also called vitamin A1, is a fat-soluble vitamin in the vitamin A family that is found in food and used as a dietary supplement. Retinol or other forms of vitamin A are needed for vision, cellular development, maintenance of skin and ...

and NAD⁺, whereas its 3

products Product may refer to: Business * Product (business), an item that can be offered to a market to satisfy the desire or need of a customer. * Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution ...

are

retinal Retinal (also known as retinaldehyde) is a polyene chromophore. Retinal, bound to proteins called opsins, is the chemical basis of visual phototransduction, the light-detection stage of visual perception (vision). Some microorganisms use ret ...

NADH Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a coenzyme central to metabolism. Found in all living cells, NAD is called a dinucleotide because it consists of two nucleotides joined through their phosphate groups. One nucleotide contains an ade ...

(or NADPH in the case where NADP⁺ is a cofactor), and H⁺. This enzyme belongs to the family of

oxidoreductase In biochemistry, an oxidoreductase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of electrons from one molecule, the reductant, also called the electron donor, to another, the oxidant, also called the electron acceptor. This group of enzymes usually ut ...

s, specifically those acting on the CH-OH group of donor with NAD⁺ or NADP⁺ as acceptor. The

systematic name A systematic name is a name given in a systematic way to one unique group, organism, object or chemical substance, out of a specific population or collection. Systematic names are usually part of a nomenclature. A semisystematic name or semitrivi ...

of this enzyme class is retinol:NAD⁺ oxidoreductase. Other names in common use include retinol (vitamin A1) dehydrogenase, MDR, microsomal retinol dehydrogenase, all-trans retinol dehydrogenase, retinal reductase, and retinene reductase. This enzyme participates in retinol metabolism. Occasionally, the literature refers to retinol dehydrogenase as an enzyme that oxidizes retinol in general, such as class IV

alcohol dehydrogenase Alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH) () are a group of dehydrogenase enzymes that occur in many organisms and facilitate the interconversion between alcohols and aldehydes or ketones with the reduction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) to N ...

(ADH4), which reportedly is the most efficient

oxidation Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

in the human

(ADH) family.

Structure

As one of the most important RDH, 11-''cis''-retinol dehydrogenase catalyzes the 11-''cis'' retinaldehyde (the most common visual pigments in higher animals) formation. The enzyme is mainly expressed in the

retinal pigment epithelium The pigmented layer of retina or retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is the pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), ...

( RPE) and is part of short-chain

dehydrogenase A dehydrogenase is an enzyme belonging to the group of oxidoreductases that oxidizes a substrate by reducing an electron acceptor, usually NAD+/NADP+ or a flavin coenzyme such as FAD or FMN. Like all catalysts, they catalyze reverse as well as ...

(SDR) /

reductase In biochemistry, an oxidoreductase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of electrons from one molecule, the reductant, also called the electron donor, to another, the oxidant, also called the electron acceptor. This group of enzymes usually uti ...

superfamily. The integral membrane enzyme is anchored to the

membrane A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. Bi ...

s by its two

hydrophobic In chemistry, hydrophobicity is the chemical property of a molecule (called a hydrophobe) that is seemingly repelled from a mass of water. In contrast, hydrophiles are attracted to water. Hydrophobic molecules tend to be nonpolar and, thu ...

chains. The

catalytic Catalysis () is the increase in reaction rate, 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 ...

domain of 11-''cis''-retinol dehydrogenase is restricted to the lumenal compartment, suggesting its origin from compartmentalized process. 11-''cis''-retinol dehydrogenase is also mainly associated to the smooth endoplasmic reticulum of RPE cells. The 32-kDa integral membrane protein protein (p32) was found to act as the stereospecific 11-''cis''-retinol dehydrogenase in the presence of NAD⁺ cofactor, and p32

the

biosynthesis Biosynthesis, i.e., chemical synthesis occurring in biological contexts, is a term most often referring to multi-step, enzyme-Catalysis, catalyzed processes where chemical substances absorbed as nutrients (or previously converted through biosynthe ...

of 11-''cis'' retinal commonly found visual

chromophore A chromophore is the part of a molecule responsible for its color. The word is derived . The color that is seen by our eyes is that of the light not Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbed by the reflecting object within a certain wavele ...

. One of the widely studied genes of retinol dehydrogenase ''RDH12'', which encodes retinol dehydrogenase is part of the superfamily of short-chained alcohol dehydrogenases and

s. ''RDH12'' is mainly expressed in neuroretina and is composed of 7 exons encoding a 360-amino acid peptide.

Zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

molecules serve as the ligand cofactor with the cofactor NAD. The retinol will interact with the enzyme at the area between those two cofactors. However, not all retinol dehydrogenases in visual cycle are identified, and this remains challenging to scientists due to the overlapping expressions and activity redundancy among two large RDH and RDH-like producing classes: microsomal short-chain

and

cytosol The cytosol, also known as cytoplasmic matrix or groundplasm, is one of the liquids found inside cells ( intracellular fluid (ICF)). It is separated into compartments by membranes. For example, the mitochondrial matrix separates the mitochondri ...

ic medium-chain

s. In Bovine, retinol dehydrogenase is found as a part of retinal rod outer segments and shows difficulty when separating from

. Its Stokes radius is 8.5 nm in Lubrol 12A9 mixed

micelle A micelle () or micella () ( or micellae, respectively) is an aggregate (or supramolecular assembly) of surfactant amphipathic lipid molecules dispersed in a liquid, forming a colloidal suspension (also known as associated colloidal system). ...

Function

Retinoid dehydrogenases/reductases (oxidoreductases), including retinol dehydrogenase, catalyze the key oxidation-reduction reactions in the visual cycle, converting

vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is an essential nutrient. The term "vitamin A" encompasses a group of chemically related organic compounds that includes retinol, retinyl esters, and several provitamin (precursor) carotenoids, most not ...

to 11-''cis'' retinal, which is the chromophore of the rod and cone photoreceptors. It is believed that RDHs at rod and cone are different, but related and can catalyze the same reaction. RDH12 is the primary enzyme that reduces all-''trans'' retinal released from bleached photopigments during recovery phase in the visual cycle. The RDH12 enzyme can use either ''cis'' or ''trans'' retinoid isomers as substrates and can also function as both

(i.e. retinol to retinal) and

(i.e. retinal to retinol). The conversion of retinol to retinal is the rate-limiting step in the

retinoic acid Retinoic acid (simplified nomenclature for all-''trans''-retinoic acid) is a metabolite of vitamin A1 (all-''trans''-retinol) that is required for embryonic development, male fertility, regulation of bone growth and immune function. All-''trans ...

biosynthesis. In vertebrates, the retinoic acid is the ligand that controls nuclear receptor signaling pathway, which is responsible for growth and development as well as epithelial maintenance, therefore can be used for cancer and acne treatment. In human, ADH4 can exhibit at least 10 folds higher V_max/K_m than other ADH. Visual cycle adapted v3

Some retinol dehydrogenases are in extra-

ocular An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the eye ...

tissues, such as

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

retinol dehydrogenase-4 (RoDH-4), which converts retinol and 1-''cis''-retinol to different aldehydes in

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

and

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

. It was also found that 13-''cis''-retinoic acid (isotretinoin), 3,4-didehydroretinoic acid, and 3,4-didehydroretinol can act as

competitive inhibitor Competitive inhibition is interruption of a chemical pathway owing to one chemical substance inhibiting the effect of another by competing with it for binding or bonding. Any metabolic or chemical messenger system can potentially be affected b ...

of the 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase

oxidative Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

activity of the enzyme. This can potentially explain how

isotretinoin Isotretinoin, also known as 13-''cis''-retinoic acid and sold under the brand name Accutane among others, is a medication used to treat skin diseases like harlequin-type ichthyosis, and lamellar ichthyosis, and severe cystic acne or moderat ...

, the active ingredient is Roaccutane ( Accutane), can suppress

sebaceous gland A sebaceous gland or oil gland is a microscopic exocrine gland in the skin that opens into a hair follicle to secrete an oily or waxy matter, called sebum, which lubricates the hair and skin of mammals. In humans, sebaceous glands occur in ...

s and be used for severe acne treatment.

Disease relevance

The

missense mutation 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. Missense mutations change amino acids, which in turn alt ...

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 ...

''rdh5'', which codes for microsomal 11-''cis''-retinol dehydrogenase (RDH5), causes fundus albipunctatus, whose

symptom Signs and symptoms are diagnostic indications of an illness, injury, or condition. Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature ...

s include retinal white-spot accumulation, stationary night blindness caused by delay in

cone In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the '' apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines ...

and rod

photopigment Photopigments are unstable pigments that undergo a chemical change when they absorb light. The term is generally applied to the non-protein chromophore Moiety (chemistry), moiety of photosensitive chromoproteins, such as the pigments involved in ph ...

regeneration, and elderly

cone dystrophy A cone dystrophy is an inherited ocular disorder characterized by the loss of cone cells, the photoreceptors responsible for both central and color vision. Presentation The most common symptoms of cone dystrophy are vision loss (age of onset ...

. At least 20

mutation 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, ...

s in ''rdh12''

, which encodes retinol dehydrogenase, can be associated to

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...

s, including severe and early-onset

autosomal recessive In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the Phenotype, effect of a different variant of the same gene on Homologous chromosome, the other copy of the chromosome. The firs ...

retinal dystrophy (arRD), or Leber congenital amaurosis. Patients suffer from

and rod malfunction since

childhood A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

and develop legal blindness when reaching

adulthood An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

. This suggests that RDH12 might play a central role in the visual cycle and can be a promising

therapeutic A therapy or medical treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. Both words, ''treatment'' and ''therapy'', are often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx. As a rule, each therapy has indications an ...

target. A possible mechanism of the accelerated degradation among RDH12 mutants is the polyubiquitination by

cytosolic The cytosol, also known as cytoplasmic matrix or groundplasm, is one of the liquids found inside cells ( intracellular fluid (ICF)). It is separated into compartments by membranes. For example, the mitochondrial matrix separates the mitochondri ...

ubiquitin ligase A ubiquitin ligase (also called an E3 ubiquitin ligase) is a protein that recruits an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme that has been loaded with ubiquitin, recognizes a protein substrate, and assists or directly catalyzes the transfer of ubiquitin ...

s and subsequent degradation by

proteosome Proteasomes are essential protein complexes responsible for the degradation of proteins by proteolysis, a chemical reaction that breaks peptide bonds. Enzymes that help such reactions are called proteases. Proteasomes are found inside all e ...

. Its conformation aberration provokes the aforementioned accelerated degradation.

References

{{Portal bar, Biology, border=no EC 1.1.1 NADH-dependent enzymes Enzymes of unknown structure