Heme degradation
We all have observed that the color or a bruise turns from red to blue to green. The underlying processes involve the degradation of heme.
Heme is the prosthetic group of hemoglobin and is produced in massive amounts in our bodies. Heme can be degraded via different pathways. Heme oxygenases catalyze the formation of ferrous iron, carbon monoxide, and biliverdin, which is subsequently reduced by biliverdin reductases to bilirubin. Oxidative degradation of bilirubin leads to a series of products that we are structurally elucidating in this project. Using metabolic profiling as well as classical purification / structure elucidation approaches we were able to fundamentally expand our knowledge about this oxidative pathway. We also follow up the function of the oxidative heme degradation products in mammals.
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