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.
Structure
Function
Disease
Relevance
Structural highlights
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