Heidi Hu/Sandbox 1
From Proteopedia
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The pathogenic bacterium [[Helicobacter pylori]] can colonize the human gut and has been linked to peptic ulcers and gastric carcinomas. One of the reasons that H. pylori can survive in the extremely acidic environment of the human stomach is because of the activity of a nickel-dependent enzyme, urease. The bacteria uses active urease to make ammonia and carbon dioxide from urea and water, and then uses the ammonia to neutralize its local environment. Even in a neutral environment, H. pylori makes a large quantity of premature urease, which can be quickly activated by inserting nickel into the enzyme in acid shock. However, nickel is not readily available inside the cell because free nickel can damage other cell components. As a result, a series of proteins are needed to acquire nickel and to insert the nickel into urease.
One of the proteins involved in urease maturation is UreE, which functions as a nickel carrier protein.
