PubMed Health⌕ Search

PubMed · 539882

["Transitory" phenylketonuria. A permanent deficit].

Abstract

Three cases are reported with hyperphenylalaninaemia greater than 1.8 micrometer/ml-1 in the neonatal period, becoming tolerant of a normal regime (3 g protein per kg) without plasma levels of phenylalanine exceeding 0.2 to 0.3 micrometer/ml-1. Atypical kinetics (zero order) of phenylalanine clearance after intravenous perfusion were shown in the three cases at the age of one year and the persistence of the disorder was again demonstrated at the age of five years in two cases by the study of an oral load of phenylalanine. Examination of the parents showed normal fasting levels of phenylalanine and a normal phenylalanine/tyrosine ratio. The observations draw together several previous publications from diverse authors and a new defined entity, "transitory" phenylketonuria, is proposed. It does not always appear to be a homogenous condition, as a partial defect in biopterin synthesis has been shown in the one case. In retrospect no anomaly of this kind was discovered in the other two cases where the mechanism was not elucidated.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

F Rey, R J Leeming, H C Curtius, A Niederwieser, M Viscontini, J Rey. 1979. ["Transitory" phenylketonuria. A permanent deficit].. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/539882/

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

Structural studies of constitutive nitric oxide synthases with diatomic ligands bound.

Crystal structures are reported for the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)-arginine-CO ternary complex as well as the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) heme domain complexed with L: -arginine and diatomic ligands, CO or NO, in the presence of the native cofactor, tetrahydrobiopterin, or its oxidized analogs, dihydrobiopterin and 4-aminobiopterin. The nature of the biopterin has no influence on the diatomic ligand binding. The binding geometries of diatomic ligands to nitric oxide synthase (NOS) follow the {MXY}(n) formalism developed from the inorganic diatomic-metal complexes. The structures reveal some subtle structural differences between eNOS and nNOS when CO is bound to the heme which correlate well with the differences in CO stretching frequencies observed by resonance Raman techniques. The detailed hydrogen-bonding geometries depicted in the active site of nNOS structures indicate that it is the ordered active-site water molecule rather than the substrate itself that would most likely serve as a direct proton donor to the diatomic ligands (CO, NO, as well as O(2)) bound to the heme. This has important implications for the oxygen activation mechanism critical to NOS catalysis.

Biopterins↗

GTP cyclohydrolase feedback regulatory protein controls cofactor 6-tetrahydrobiopterin synthesis in the cytosol and in the nucleus of epidermal keratinocytes and melanocytes.

(6R)-L-erythro 5,6,7,8 tetrahydrobiopterin (6BH4) is crucial in the hydroxylation of L-phenylalanine-, L-tyrosine-, and L-tryptophan-regulating catecholamine and serotonin synthesis as well as tyrosinase in melanogenesis. The rate-limiting step of 6BH4 de novo synthesis is controlled by guanosine triphosphate (GTP) cyclohydrolase I (GTPCHI) and its feedback regulatory protein (GFRP), where binding of L-phenylalanine to GFRP increases enzyme activities, while 6BH4 exerts the opposite effect. Earlier it was demonstrated that the human epidermis holds the full capacity for autocrine 6BH4 de novo synthesis and recycling. However, besides the expression of epidermal mRNA for GFRP, the presence of a functioning GFRP feedback has never been shown. Therefore, it was tempting to investigate whether this important mechanism is present in epidermal cells. Our results identified indeed a functioning GFRP/GTPCHI axis in epidermal keratinocytes and melanocytes in the cytosol, adding the missing link for 6BH4 de novo synthesis which in turn controls cofactor supply for catecholamine and serotonin biosynthesis as well as melanogenesis in the human epidermis. Moreover, GFRP expression and GTPCHI activities have been found in the nucleus of both cell types. The significance of this result warrants further investigation.

Biopterins↗