Description
General description
Uricase deficient mice develop uric acid nephropathy and diabetes insipidus which can be mitigated with recombinant uricase treatment.
Uricase is a homo-tetrameric protein with its active sites at the head-to-tail monomer-dimer interface.
Application
Uricase from Candida sp. has been used:
to eliminate urate in plasma samples and evaluate the contribution of urate to the total plasma antioxidant capacity
to intraperitoneally inject the mice to study the role of uric acid in fibrin extracellular traps (ET) formation
for elimination of uric acid in ferric reducing/antioxidative power (FRAP) assay to measure the total antioxidative capacity of human plasma sample; in uricase-based biosensors
Biochem/physiol Actions
Uricase participates in purine catabolism. It catalyzes the conversion of highly insoluble uric acid into 5-hydroxyisourate. Accumulation of uric acid causes liver/kidney damage or chronically causes gout. In mice, a mutation in the gene encoding uricase causes a sudden increase in uric acid. Mice, deficient in this gene, exhibit hyperuricemia, hyperuricosuria, and uric acid crystalline obstructive nephropathy.
Physical form
Powder; contains citrate and sucrose
Other Notes
One unit will oxidize 1.0 μmole of uric acid to allantoin per minute at pH 8.5 at 25 °C.
