Initial stages in the biosynthesis of porphyrins. 2. The formation of δ-aminolaevulic acid from glycine and succinyl-coenzyme A by particles from chicken erythrocytes

Abstract

It has been known for some time that the carbon skeleton of porphyrins can be synthesized in vivo entirely from glycine and a C4 compound which is an intermediate in the oxidative decarboxylation of oa-oxoglutarate to succinate (for review see Shemin, 1955). The discovery of the role of 8- aminolaevulic acid in porphyrin synthesis (Shemin & Russell, 1953; Neuberger & Scott, 1953; Dresel & Falk, 1953) led to the hypothesis that the initial reaction in porphyrin synthesis is the condensation of glycine with this C4 compound to form 8-amino- laevulic acid, which is then further metabolized to porphobilinogen and porphyrins. The correctness of this view was demonstrated in Part 1 (Laver, Neuberger & Udenfriend, 1958), which described the isolation and properties of a particulate system from erythrocytes of anaemic chickens that cat- alyses a net synthesis of 8-aminolaevulic acid from glycine and oc-oxoglutarate or succinate.