| amino group | <biochemistry> An -NH2 group. Organic compounds which have this group are called amines. (09 Oct 1997) |
|---|---|
| amino sugar | <biochemistry> Monosaccharide in which an OH group is replaced with an amino group, often acetylated. Common examples are D galactosamine, D glucosamine, neuraminic acid, muramic acid. Amino sugars are important constituents of bacterial cell walls, some antibiotics, blood group substances, milk oligosaccharides and chitin. (18 Nov 1997) |
| amino sugars | Sugar's in which a hydroxyl group has been replaced with an amino group; e.g., d-glucosamine. (05 Mar 2000) |
| amino-terminal | <biochemistry> The end of a protein or polypeptide chain with the unattached amino group or the aminoacyl residue containing it. Each amino acid in the chain has an amino group on one side, which is attached to the carboxyl group (COOH group) of the previous amino acid, and a carboxyl group on the other side (which is attached to the amino group of the next amino acid). The other end of the polypeptide chain is called the carboxyl terminal. Synonym: NH2-terminal. (14 Aug 2000) |
| amino-terminal residue | <biochemistry> The only amino acid residue in a polypeptide chain that has a free alpha-amino group, it defines the amino terminus of the polypeptide. (09 Oct 1997) |
| aromatic d-amino-acid decarboxylase | <enzyme> An enzyme that catalyses the decarboxylation of l-dopa to dopamine, of l-tryptophan to tryptamine, and of l-hydroxytryptophan to serotonin; important in the biosynthetic pathway of catecholamines and melanin. Synonym: dopa decarboxylase, hydroxytryptophan decarboxylase, tryptophan decarboxylase. (05 Mar 2000) |
| aromatic-l-amino-acid decarboxylases | <enzyme> An enzyme group with broad specificity. The enzymes decarboxylate a range of aromatic amino acids including dopa (dopa decarboxylase), tryptophan, and hydroxytryptophan. Chemical name: Aromatic-L-amino-acid carboxy-lyase Registry number: EC 4.1.1.28 (12 Dec 1998) |
| basic amino acid | An amino acid containing a second basic group (usually an amino group); e.g., lysine, arginine, ornithine. Synonym: dibasic amino acid. (05 Mar 2000) |
| receptors, amino acid | Cell surface proteins that bind amino acids and trigger changes which influence the behaviour of cells. Glutamate receptors are the most common receptors for fast excitatory synaptic transmission in the vertebrate central nervous system, and gaba and glycine receptors are the most common receptors for fast inhibition. (12 Dec 1998) |
| glucogenic amino acid | <biochemistry> A type of amino acid with carbon chains that can be broken down into an intermediate of the citric acid cycle such as glycogen and then converted into glucose as a means of entering the normal process of carbohydrate metabolism in the body. Examples include: Glycine, alanine, arginine, and ornithine. (14 Oct 1997) |
| RNA, transfer, amino acid-specific | A group of transfer rnas which are specific for carrying each one of the 20 amino acids to the ribosome in preparation for protein synthesis. (12 Dec 1998) |
| RNA, transfer, amino acyl | Intermediates in protein biosynthesis. The compounds are formed from amino acids, ATP and transfer RNA, a reaction catalyzed by aminoacyl trna synthetase. They are key compounds in the genetic translation process. (12 Dec 1998) |
| c-Jun amino-terminal kinase | <enzyme> A stress-activated protein kinase; 46-kD kinase that phosphorylates ser(63) and ser(73) of c-jun; similar to yeast hog1 kinase; amino acid sequence given in second source; genbank l23118 Registry number: EC 2.7.10.- Synonym: jn kinase, jnk1 protein kinase, jnk-46, jnk1 protein, jun-nh2-terminal kinase, stress-activated protein kinase 1, sap kinase-1, sapk1, p46 sap kinase, c-jun kinase-1 (26 Jun 1999) |
| polar amino acid | An alpha-amino acid in which the functional group attached to the alpha-carbon (i.e., R in RCH(NH2)COOH) has hydrophilic properties; e.g., serine, cysteine, homocysteine. (05 Mar 2000) |
| sequence homology, amino acid | The degree of similarity between sequences of amino acids. This information is useful for the understanding of genetic relatedness of certain species. (12 Dec 1998) |