This is a default text for your page '. Click above on edit this page' to modify. Be careful with the < and > signs.
You may include any references to papers as in: the use of JSmol in Proteopedia [1] or to the article describing Jmol [2] to the rescue.
Function
It is an enzyme that converts uric acid to allantoin. Allantoin is much more soluble than uric acid, and passes harmlessly from the body. Unfortunately, during evolution, humans have lost the ability to produce uricase (also called urate oxidase).
Disease
Relevance
Uricase is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion or uric acid to allantoin. Uric acid is
an acidic waste product that your body passes through urine. It is a normal byproduct of the
breakdown of foods that contain purines. Normally, the kidneys filter out uric acid from your
blood; if too much builds up, it can lower the pH of your blood and urine and lead to a painful
joint condition called gout and other complications. The reason I chose uricase is because it
monitors the uric acid levels in our body. Interestingly, humans have naturally selected to
terminate uricase. Because of the absence of uricase in humans, we may go through many
complications caused by uric acid build up. Scientists are studying why natural selection would
allow the accumulation of uric acid even though there are psychological complications of
crystalized monosodium urate acutely causing liver and kidney damage or chronically causing
gout.
Structural highlights
This is without a ligand.
You can view uricase with a ligand
