| Literature DB >> 1059082 |
Abstract
The aspartic acid in human tooth enamel shows increasing racemization with age. This increase is not seen in the metabolically active protein hemoglobin. The rate constant for the racemization reaction of aspartic acid in human tooth enamel was found to be 8.29 X 10(-4) yr-1. This rate constant suggests that in any protein with a long in vivo lifetime, D-aspartic acid will accumulate with age (about 8% of total aspartic acid in enamel will be the D-enantiomer after 60 years). Thus, racemization may play some role in the aging process affecting metabolically stable tissues in long-lived homeotherms. Aspartic acid racemization in toogh enamel also provides a biochronological tool for assessing the age of living mammals.Entities:
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Year: 1975 PMID: 1059082 PMCID: PMC432884 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.72.8.2891
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ISSN: 0027-8424 Impact factor: 11.205