Tyrosine
Tyrosine (from the Greek tyros, for "cheese", where it was first discovered), 4-hydroxyphenylalanine, or 2-amino-3(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propanoic acid, is one of the 20 amino acids that are used by cells to synthesize proteins. It plays a key role in signal transduction, since it can be tagged (phosphorylated) with a phosphate group by protein kinases to alter the functionality and activity of certain enzymes. Other important biological functions of tyrosine are as a precursor of the thyroid hormone, thyroxine and of the biologically active catecholamines, dopamine, noradrenaline and adrenaline.
Chemical properties:
- Isoelectric point: 5.64
- Mass: 181.19
- Abbreviations: Tyr / Y
- Side chain: hydrophilic
- Chemical formula: C9O3H11N (structure)
- Alkaptonuria
- Tyrosinemia