CYP2U1
Description
The CYP2U1 (cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily U member 1) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 4.
CYP2U1 (cytochrome P450, family 2, subfamily U, polypeptide 1) is a protein encoded by the CYP2U1 gene. It belongs to the cytochrome P450 superfamily of enzymes, which are monooxygenases involved in drug metabolism and synthesis of cholesterol, steroids, and fatty acid hydroxylation. CYP2U1 metabolizes arachidonic acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and other long chain fatty acids, suggesting a role in brain and immune functions. It also metabolizes propanone, acetone, and 2-oxypropane. CYP2U1 is primarily expressed in the brain and thymus, with lower levels in the kidney, lung, and heart. CYP2U1 hydroxylates arachidonic acid, DHA, and other long chain fatty acids at their terminal carbon, producing 20-hydroxy-arachidonic acid (20-HETE), 22-hydroxy-docosahexaneoic acid, and other ω-hydroxy long chain fatty acids, respectively. It also produces lesser amounts of ω-1 hydroxy metabolites. 20-HETE, one of these metabolites, regulates blood pressure and blood flow in animal models and possibly in humans. A mutation (c.947A>T) in CYP2U1 has been associated with hereditary spastic paraplegia in a few patients, segregating with the disease at the homozygous state in two families.
CYP2U1 is a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase that metabolizes arachidonic acid and its conjugates. It uses molecular oxygen to insert one oxygen atom into a substrate, reducing the second oxygen atom to water using two electrons provided by NADPH via cytochrome P450 reductase. CYP2U1 acts as an omega and omega-1 hydroxylase for arachidonic acid and possibly for other long chain fatty acids. It may modulate the arachidonic acid signaling pathway and play a role in other fatty acid signaling processes. CYP2U1 may down-regulate the biological activities of N-arachidonoyl-serotonin, an endocannabinoid with anti-nociceptive effects, by catalyzing C-2 oxidation of the indole ring of N-arachidonoyl-serotonin, forming a less active product, 2-oxo-N-arachidonoyl-serotonin.
CYP2U1 is also known as P450TEC, SPG49, SPG56.
