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ASPA (gene)

Aspartoacylase
ASPA dimer.png
Structure of aspartoacylase dimer. Generated from 2I3C.
Identifiers
EC number 3.5.1.15
Databases
IntEnz IntEnz view
BRENDA BRENDA entry
ExPASy NiceZyme view
KEGG KEGG entry
MetaCyc metabolic pathway
PRIAM profile
PDB structures RCSB PDB PDBe PDBsum

Aspartoacylase (EC 3.5.1.15, aminoacylase II, N-acetylaspartate amidohydrolase, acetyl-aspartic deaminase, acylase II, ASPA) is a hydrolase enzyme responsible for catalyzing the deacylation of N-acetyl-l-aspartate (N-acetylaspartate,NAA) into aspartate and acetate. It is a zinc-dependent hydrolase that promotes the deprotonation of water to use as a nucleophile in a mechanism analogous to many other zinc-dependent hydrolases. It is most commonly found in the brain, where it controls the levels of N-actetyl-l-aspartate. Mutations that result in loss of aspartoacylase activity are associated with Canavan disease, a rare autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder.

Aspartoacylase is a dimer of two identical monomers of 313 amino acids and use a zinc cofactor in each. There are two distinct domains in each monomer: the N-terminal domain from residues 1-212 and the C-terminal domain from residues 213-313. The N-terminal domain of aspartoacylase is similar to that of zinc-dependent hydrolases such as carboxypeptidaseA. However, carboxypeptidases do not have something similar to the C-domain. In carboxypeptidase A, the active site is accessible to large substrates like the bulky C-terminal residue of polypeptides, whereas the C-domain sterically hinders access to the active site in aspartoacylase. Instead, the N-domain and C-domain of aspartoacylase form a deep narrow channel that leads to the active site.


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Wikipedia

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