Squalene monooxygenase (also called squalene epoxidase) is a eukaryotic

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 uses

NADPH Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, abbreviated NADP or, in older notation, TPN (triphosphopyridine nucleotide), is a cofactor used in anabolic reactions, such as the Calvin cycle and lipid and nucleic acid syntheses, which require N ...

and diatomic

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

to oxidize

squalene Squalene is an organic compound. It is a triterpene with the formula C30H50. It is a colourless oil, although impure samples appear yellow. It was originally obtained from shark liver oil (hence its name, as '' Squalus'' is a genus of sharks). ...

2,3-oxidosqualene (''S'')-2,3-Oxidosqualene ((''S'')-2,3-epoxysqualene) is an intermediate in the synthesis of the cell membrane sterol precursors lanosterol and cycloartenol, as well as saponins. It is formed when squalene is oxidized by the enzyme squale ...

(squalene epoxide). Squalene epoxidase catalyzes the first oxygenation step in

sterol A sterol is any organic compound with a Skeletal formula, skeleton closely related to Cholestanol, cholestan-3-ol. The simplest sterol is gonan-3-ol, which has a formula of , and is derived from that of gonane by replacement of a hydrogen atom on ...

biosynthesis and is thought to be one of the rate-limiting enzymes in this pathway. In humans, squalene epoxidase is encoded by the ''SQLE''

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 ...

. Several

eukaryote 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 ...

genomes lack a squalene monooxygenase encoding gene, but instead encode an alternative squalene epoxidase that performs the same task.

Mechanism

The canonical squalene monooxygenase is a

flavoprotein Flavoproteins are proteins that contain a nucleic acid derivative of riboflavin. These proteins are involved in a wide array of biological processes, including removal of radicals contributing to oxidative stress, photosynthesis, and DNA repair. ...

monooxygenase Monooxygenases are enzymes that incorporate one hydroxyl group (−OH) into substrates in many metabolic pathways. In this reaction, the two atoms of dioxygen are reduced to one hydroxyl group and one H2O molecule by the concomitant oxidation of ...

. Flavoprotein monooxygenase form flavin

hydroperoxide Hydroperoxides or peroxols are Chemical compound, compounds of the form ROOH, where R stands for any group, typically Organic compound, organic, which contain the hydroperoxy functional group (). Hydroperoxide also refers to the hydroperoxide anio ...

s at the

active site In biology and biochemistry, the active site is the region of an enzyme where substrate molecules bind and undergo a chemical reaction. The active site consists of amino acid residues that form temporary bonds with the substrate, the ''binding s ...

, which then transfer the terminal oxygen atom of the

to the

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (aquatic environment), the earthy material that exi ...

. Squalene monooxygenase differs from other flavin monooxygenases in that the

is inserted into the substrate as an

epoxide In organic chemistry, an epoxide is a cyclic ether, where the ether forms a three-atom ring: two atoms of carbon and one atom of oxygen. This triangular structure has substantial ring strain, making epoxides highly reactive, more so than other ...

rather than as a

hydroxyl In chemistry, a hydroxy or hydroxyl group is a functional group with the chemical formula and composed of one oxygen atom covalently bonded to one hydrogen atom. In organic chemistry, alcohols and carboxylic acids contain one or more hydroxy ...

group. This enzyme contains a loosely bound

FAD A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors tha ...

flavin and obtains

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 ...

s from

- cytochrome P450 reductase, rather than binding NADPH directly. The alternative squalene epoxidase belongs to the fatty acid hydroxylase superfamily and obtains electrons from

cytochrome b5 Cytochromes ''b''5 are ubiquitous electron transport hemoproteins found in animals, plants, fungi and purple bacteria, purple phototrophic bacteria. The microsome, microsomal and mitochondrial variants are membrane-bound, while bacterial and tho ...

Inhibitors

Inhibitors of squalene epoxidase have found application mainly as

antifungal drug An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as c ...

s: * butenafine *

naftifine Naftifine hydrochloride (brand names include Exoderil and Naftin) is an allylamine antifungal drug for the topical treatment of tinea pedis, tinea cruris, and tinea corporis (topical fungal infections). Naftifine was invented at the Sandoz Resear ...

terbinafine Terbinafine, sold under the brand name Lamisil among others, is an antifungal medication used to treat pityriasis versicolor, onychomycosis, fungal nail infections, and ringworm including jock itch and athlete's foot. It is either oral adminis ...

Since squalene epoxidase is on the biosynthetic pathway leading to production of

cholesterol Cholesterol is the principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body Tissue (biology), tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in Animal fat, animal fats and oils. Cholesterol is biosynthesis, biosynthesized by all anima ...

, inhibitors of this enzyme may also find application in treatment of

hypercholesterolemia Hypercholesterolemia, also called high cholesterol, is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. It is a form of hyperlipidemia (high levels of lipids in the blood), hyperlipoproteinemia (high levels of lipoproteins in the blood), ...

Localization

In baker's yeast (''

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' () (brewer's yeast or baker's yeast) is a species of yeast (single-celled fungal microorganisms). The species has been instrumental in winemaking, baking, and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to have be ...

''), squalene epoxidase is localized to both the endoplasmic reticulum and lipid droplets. Only the ER localized protein is active.

Additional products

Squalene epoxidase also catalyzes the formation of diepoxysqualene (DOS). DOS is converted to 24(S),25-epoxylanosterol by lanosterol synthase.

References

External links

* {{NLM content EC 1.14.13