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Protoporphyrin IX, in the metabolism of
porphyrinPorphyrins are a group of organic compounds, many naturally occurring. One of the best-known porphyrins is heme, the pigment in red blood cells; heme is a cofactor of the protein hemoglobin. Porphyrins are heterocyclic macrocycles composed of four modified pyrrole subunits interconnected at...
, is created by the enzyme
protoporphyrinogen oxidaseProtoporphyrinogen oxidase is an enzyme that is responsible for the seventh step in heme production....
.
Heme b biosynthesis
In heme biosynthesis, the enzyme
ferrochelataseFerrochelatase is an enzyme that catalyses the terminal step in the biosynthesis of heme, converting protoporphyrin IX into heme. It catalyses the reaction:A ferrochelatase enzyme consists of 497 amino acid residues with a m.w...
converts it into
heme bHeme B or haem B is the most abundant heme, both hemoglobin and myoglobin are examples of oxygen transport proteins that contain heme B. The peroxidase family of enzymes also contain heme B...
(i.e. Fe-protoporphyrin IX or protoheme IX).
Chlorophyll biosynthesis
In
chlorophyllChlorophyll is a green pigment found in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρος, chloros and φύλλον, phyllon . Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light...
biosynthesis, the enzyme
magnesium chelataseMagnesium-chelatase is a three-component enzyme that catalyses the insertion of Mg2+ into protoporphyrin IX. This is the first unique step in the synthesis of bacteriochlorophyll...
converts it into Mg-protoporphyrin IX.
See also
- Methyl aminolevulinate
Methyl aminolevulinate is a prodrug that is metabolised to Protoporphyrin IX used in photodynamic therapy. It is marketed as Metvix....
- Protoporphyrin for other roles of protoporphyrin IX