Mercapturic acid

Mercapturic acid is a condensation product formed from the coupling of cysteine with aromatic compounds.[1] It is formed as a conjugate in the liver and is excreted in the urine.[1]

Glutathione adducts lose glutamate and glycine portions, and are acetylated to form mercapturic acids, which are excreted.

Levels of mercapturic in the urine may be used as an indicator of exposure to, e.g., ethylene dibromide[2] and acrylamide.

References
  1. medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com Retrieved on June 25, 2009
  2. Kim DH, Guengerich FP (November 1989). "Excretion of the mercapturic acid S-[2-(N7-guanyl)ethyl]-N-acetylcysteine in urine following administration of ethylene dibromide to rats". Cancer Res. 49 (21): 5843–7. PMID 2790795.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.