Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Turning green to gold

  • News & Views
  • Published:

From Nature Structural Biology

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Biliverdin is reduced to the potent antioxidant bilirubin in mammals and other vertebrates. The X-ray crystal structures of two biliverdin reductases, with different isomer specificities, show how substrate and cofactor bind to the enzymes and provide new insights into the mechanism of the reduction.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1: Main steps in the biosynthesis of bilirubin.
Figure 2: Ring opening of heme to give four isomeric biliverdins (IXα, IXβ, IXγ and IXδ) and reduction of the IXα and IXβ isomers to the corresponding bilirubins.
Figure 3
Figure 4: A proposed mechanism for enzymic reduction of biliverdins.

References

  1. Beale, S.I. & Yeh, J.I. Nature Struct. Biol. 6, 903–905 (1999).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Galbraith, R. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 222, 299–305 (1999).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Ryter, S.W. & Tyrrell, R.M. Free Radical Biol. Med. 28, 289–309 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Nath, K.A. J. Clin. Invest. 104, 1485–1486 (1999).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Suematsu, M. & Ishimura, Y. Hepatology 31, 3–6 (2000).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Doré, S. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96, 2445–2450 (1999).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Schuller, D.J., Wilks, A., de Montellano, P.R.O. & Poulos, T.L. Nature Struct. Biol. 6, 860–867 (1999).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Sugishima, M. et al. FEBS Lett. 471, 61–66 (2000).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Kikuchi, A. et al. Nature Struct. Biol. 8, 221–225 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Pereira, P.J.B. et al. Nature Struct. Biol. 8, 215–220 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Yamaguchi, T. & Nakajima, H. Eur. J. Biochem. 233, 467–472 (1995).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Benedikt, E., Gossauer, A., Köst, H.P., Miki, W. & Yamaguchi, K. Eur. J. Biochem. 175, 643–648 (1988).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Austin, C.C. & Jessing, K.W. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 109A, 619–626 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Bonnett, R., Davies, J.E., Hursthouse, M.B. & Sheldrick, G.M. Proc. Roy. Soc. B 202, 249–268 (1978).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Schluchter, W.M. & Glazer, A.N. J. Biol. Chem. 272, 13562–13569 (1997).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Yamaguchi, T., Komoda, Y. & Nakajima, H. J. Biol. Chem. 269, 24343–24348 (1994).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Shalloe, F., Elliott, G., Ennis, O. & Mantle, T.J. Biochem. J. 316, 385–387 (1996).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Holden, H.M., Rypniewski, W.R., Law, J.H. & Rayment, I. EMBO J. 6, 1565–1570 (1987).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Huber, R. et al. J. Mol. Biol. 198, 499–513 (1987).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Wagner, U.G., Müller, N., Schmitzberger, W., Falk, H. & Kratky, C. J. Mol. Biol. 247, 326–337 (1995).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Colleran, E. & O'Carra, P. In Chemistry and Physiology of Bile Pigments (eds Berk, P.D. & Berlin, N.I.) 69–80 (US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Washington; 1977).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Division of Gastroenterology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, 94143-0538, California, USA

    Antony F. McDonagh

Authors
  1. Antony F. McDonagh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

McDonagh, A. Turning green to gold. Nat Struct Mol Biol 8, 198–200 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/84915

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/84915

  • Springer Nature America, Inc.

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation