SUMMARY PARAGRAPH for GLO1
GLO1 is a non-essential gene that encodes glyoxalase I (EC 188.8.131.52), which is involved in methylglyoxal catabolism (1). Methylglyoxal is a toxic compound formed as a by-product of glycolysis. One method of methylglyoxal catabolism comprises a glyoxalase system in which methylglyoxal is condensed with glutathione by Glo1p to produce S-D-lactoylglutathione (1). This glutathione thiolester is then hydrolyzed to lactic acid and glutathione by glyoxalase II (Glo2p and Glo4p) (5). GLO1 expression is induced by methylglyoxal (4) and is specifically induced by osmotic stress in a high osmolarity glycerol (Hog1p)-mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase-dependent manner (2).
Deletion of GLO1 results in hypersensitivity to methylglyoxal (1). The Glo1p homolog from Schizosaccharomyces pombe can complement the growth defects of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae glo1 null mutant (6). In S. cerevisiae, glyoxalase I (Glo1p) is a monomer. Mammals, including humans, also contain a glyoxalase I enzyme, but the enzyme in these species is dimeric (7). A single nucleotide polymorphism in human glyoxylase I, GLO1, has been identified as an autism susceptibility factor (8).
Last updated: 2012-01-03