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Urocanic acid
Urocanic acid is an intermediate in the catabolism of L-histidine. Additional recommended knowledge
MetabolismIt is formed from L-histidine through the action of histidine ammonialyase (also known as histidase or histidinase) by elimination of ammonium. In the liver, urocanic acid is transformed by urocanate hydratase (or urocanase) to 4-imidazolone-5-propionic acid and subsequently to glutamic acid. Clinical significanceInherited deficiency of urocanase leads to elevated levels of urocanic acid in the urine, a condition known as urocanic aciduria. FunctionUrocanic acid was detected in animal sweat and skin where, among other possible functions, it acts as an endogenous sunscreen or photoprotectant against UVB-induced DNA damage. Urocanic acid is found predominantly in the stratum corneum of the skin and it is likely that most of it is derived from filaggrin catabolism (a histidine-rich protein). When exposed to UVB irradiation, trans-urocanic acid is converted in vitro and in vivo to the cis isomer. The cis form is known to activate suppressor T cells. HistoryUrocanic acid was first isolated in 1874 by the chemist M. Jaffé from the urine of a dog,[1] hence the name (Latin: urina = urine, and canis = dog). See alsoReferences
Categories: Imidazoles | Carboxylic acids |
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Urocanic_acid". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia. |