Splicing variants of the porcine betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase gene: implications for mammalian metabolism.

Splicing variants of the porcine betaineâ•fihomocysteineS-methyltransferase gene: Implications for mammalian metabolism

Maternal Betaine Homocysteine Methyltransferase Gene Polymorphism as a Risk Factor for Trisomy

Disorder in re-methylation process of homocysteine to methionine due to mutation in betaine homocysteine methyltransferase enzyme (BHMT) coding gene, leads to decrease in S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) synthesis which takes part in DNA methylation as a methyl donor. As a result, it can promote hypo-methylation of DNA, chromosome instability, and chromosome missegregation, which in turn is one of t...

Molecular characterization and analysis of the porcine betaine homocysteine methyltransferase and betaine homocysteine methyltransferase-2 genes.

Betaine homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT) and BHMT-2 enzymes methylate homocysteine to form methionine using betaine and S-methylmethionine, respectively. These activities are observed only in the liver of adult rodents, but in adult humans and pigs these activities are detected in both the liver and kidney, indicating the pig is a more appropriate model for studying the biochemical and phy...

Effects of diabetes and insulin on betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase expression in rat liver.

Elevation of plasma homocysteine levels has been recognized as an independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, a major complication of diabetes. Plasma homocysteine reflects a balance between its synthesis via S-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent methylation reactions and its removal through the transmethylation and the transsulfuration pathways. Betaine-homocysteine meth...

The Metabolic Burden of Methyl Donor Deficiency with Focus on the Betaine Homocysteine Methyltransferase Pathway

Methyl groups are important for numerous cellular functions such as DNA methylation, phosphatidylcholine synthesis, and protein synthesis. The methyl group can directly be delivered by dietary methyl donors, including methionine, folate, betaine, and choline. The liver and the muscles appear to be the major organs for methyl group metabolism. Choline can be synthesized from phosphatidylcholine ...