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SERINE (HI, JAMES!)

Tavishi

Serine is my friend James's favorite amino acid. He may be wrong, but he also left this blog, so he is not permitted an opinion. However, I will still sing the songs of serine. Serine is one of the polar amino acid because of its hydroxymethyl side chain. (Hydroxymethyl is just a methylene bridge and a hydroxyl, or, for simplicity's sake, CH2OH.)

As with any other amino acid, serine has a carboxyl group and an amine group, and the farthest left structure on serine here is the aforementioned hydroxymethyl group.

Serine is a nonessential amino acid. A nonessential amino acid is not a dietary requirement, as we can synthesize serine from our body without needing to eat it, as we might with valine or isoleucine. Serine also has two enantiomers: L-serine and D-serine. Because I am not James, do not expect too much actual orgo here. L enantiomers generally are "left-facing" and D enantiomers are "right facing". All amino acids except glycine are chiral, which means they have enantiomers. L-serine is consumed in food, and D-serine is produced from L-serine. L-serine, however, can be converted into D-serine using the enzyme serine racemase. Serine racemase is, interestingly enough, dependent on vitamin B5, or pyridoxine, as a coenzyme. The racemase enzymes convert enantiomers, and serine racemase was the first human racemase enzyme ever really detected. L-serine and D-serine both play crucial roles in human biology, and both tend towards neurological functions. Serine as a whole is also a precursor to glycine, and vice versa; thus, when one is runnin' low, the other generally is, too. Serine also plays a role in the synthesis of purines and pyrimidines. L-serine is kinda useless compared to D-serine. One important and notable function of L-serine is its role in the upregulation of PPARG. PPAR-γ is a receptor encoded by the PPARG gene, which regulates the creation of adipocytes, or fat cells. Serine is one of the lesser studied regulators of PPARG. But really, L-serine just exists to make D-serine.

D-serine plays much more of a role in the nervous system, as it's a NMDA receptor agonist. NMDA receptors are receptors for glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter also descended from an amino acid. NMDA receptor channels are opened when glutamate and another molecule bind to the receptor. Glutamate must always be present, but that other molecule doesn't always have to be D-serine, but rather, could be glycine. When NMDA receptors are opened, calcium influx occurs. Interestingly enough, NMDA receptors are largely credited with synaptic plasticity. Drugs like ketamine and alcohol actually block NMDA receptors! Serine is a pretty cool amino acid. Although it is nowhere near as important as tyrosine and tryptophan, serine remains crucial to human body function!

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