Department of Life Science, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Republic of Korea; The Research Institute of Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Republic of Korea; BK21 PLUS Life Science for BDR Team, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Republic of Korea.
Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2013 Nov;45(11):2563-7. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2013.08.010. Epub 2013 Aug 27.
Dicarbonyl/L-xylulose reductase (DCXR) is a highly conserved and phylogenetically widespread enzyme converting L-xylulose into xylitol. It also reduces highly reactive α-dicarbonyl compounds, thus performing a dual role in carbohydrate metabolism and detoxification. Enzymatic properties of DCXR from yeast, fungi and mammalian tissue extracts are extensively studied. Deficiency of the DCXR gene causes a human clinical condition called pentosuria and low DCXR activity is implicated in age-related diseases including cancers, diabetes, and human male infertility. While mice provide a model to study clinical condition of these diseases, it is necessary to adopt a physiologically tractable model in which genetic manipulations can be readily achieved to allow the fast genetic analysis of an enzyme with multiple biological roles. Caenorhabditis elegans has been successfully utilized as a model to study DCXR. Here, we discuss the biochemical properties and significance of DCXR activity in various human diseases, and the utility of C. elegans as a research platform to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanism of the DCXR biology.
二羰基/L-木酮糖还原酶（DCXR）是一种高度保守且广泛存在于生物进化中的酶，能够将 L-木酮糖转化为木糖醇。它还可以还原具有高反应活性的α-二羰基化合物，从而在碳水化合物代谢和解毒中发挥双重作用。酵母、真菌和哺乳动物组织提取物中 DCXR 的酶学特性已得到广泛研究。DCXR 基因的缺失会导致一种名为戊糖尿症的人类临床病症，而 DCXR 活性降低与包括癌症、糖尿病和男性不育在内的与年龄相关的疾病有关。虽然小鼠为研究这些疾病的临床病症提供了模型，但需要采用一种生理上易于处理的模型，以便能够快速进行具有多种生物学作用的酶的遗传分析。秀丽隐杆线虫已成功用作研究 DCXR 的模型。在这里，我们讨论了 DCXR 活性在各种人类疾病中的生化特性和意义，以及秀丽隐杆线虫作为研究平台在研究 DCXR 生物学的分子和细胞机制方面的应用。
