Amine oxidase, copper containing 3 (vascular adhesion protein 1), also known as semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO, copper-containing amine:oxygen oxidoreductase), is an enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

 that in humans is encoded by the AOC3 gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

.

Function

Copper amine oxidase

Amine oxidase

Amine oxidase is an enzyme involved in the metabolism of histamine.-External links:...

s catalyze the oxidative conversion of amine

Amine

Amines are organic compounds and functional groups that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair. Amines are derivatives of ammonia, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by a substituent such as an alkyl or aryl group. Important amines include amino acids, biogenic amines,...

s to aldehyde

Aldehyde

An aldehyde is an organic compound containing a formyl group. This functional group, with the structure R-CHO, consists of a carbonyl center bonded to hydrogen and an R group....

s in the presence of copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 and quinone

Quinone

A quinone is a class of organic compounds that are formally "derived from aromatic compounds [such as benzene or naphthalene] by conversion of an even number of –CH= groups into –C– groups with any necessary rearrangement of double bonds," resulting in "a fully conjugated cyclic dione structure."...

 cofactor. The product is a major protein on the adipocyte

Adipocyte

However, in some reports and textbooks, the number of fat cell increased in childhood and adolescence. The total number is constant in both obese and lean adult...

 plasma membrane. It has adhesive properties and also has functional monoamine oxidase

Monoamine oxidase

L-Monoamine oxidases are a family of enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of monoamines. They are found bound to the outer membrane of mitochondria in most cell types in the body. The enzyme was originally discovered by Mary Bernheim in the liver and was named tyramine oxidase...

 activity.

Like monoamine oxidase

Monoamine oxidase

L-Monoamine oxidases are a family of enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of monoamines. They are found bound to the outer membrane of mitochondria in most cell types in the body. The enzyme was originally discovered by Mary Bernheim in the liver and was named tyramine oxidase...

 (MAO), SSAO can deaminate short-chain primary amines, but is insensitive to MAO inhibitors. Semicarbazide

Semicarbazide

In organic chemistry, semicarbazide is a derivative of urea, where NH2 on one side has been replaced with H2NNH2 hydrazine, yielding H2NNHCNH2.Semicarbazide is used as a detection reagent on thin layer chromatography...

 inhibits the enzyme, in addition to other hydrazine

Hydrazine

Hydrazine is an inorganic compound with the formula N2H4. It is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odor. Hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable unless handled in solution. Approximately 260,000 tons are manufactured annually...

s, hydroxylamine

Hydroxylamine

Hydroxylamine is an inorganic compound with the formula NH2OH. The pure material is a white, unstable crystalline, hygroscopic compound. However, hydroxylamine is almost always provided and used as an aqueous solution. It is used to prepare oximes, an important functional group. It is also an...

 and propargylamine. However, hydrazines are weak inhibitors and stronger inhibitors have been developed.

SSAO is found in the smooth muscle of blood vessels and various other tissues. The physiological function of SSAO is not well understood. Development of blood vessels, lipolysis regulation, and detoxication are suggested. It may function as a scavenger enzyme to assist MAO. However, the oxidation process generates harmful products that may be involved in causing atherosclerosis and vascular damage in diabetes. Elevation of SSAO activity is observed in atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol...

, diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...

, obesity

Obesity

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...

, carotid plaque cases and varicosities

Varicose veins

Varicose veins are veins that have become enlarged and tortuous. The term commonly refers to the veins on the leg, although varicose veins can occur elsewhere. Veins have leaflet valves to prevent blood from flowing backwards . Leg muscles pump the veins to return blood to the heart, against the...

.

There are SSAO inhibitors in development.

Clinical relevance

Semicarbazide-cadmium therapy

Semicarbazide-cadmium therapy

Semicarbazide-cadmium therapy was an experimental cancer therapy that was tested in several clinical trials in Russia during the 1960s. Semicarbazide is an irreversible inhibitor of semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase , an enzyme possibly involved in exacerbation of inflammation...

has been used to alleviate the symptoms of cancers, but the APIs have significant toxicity.

Further reading