thiamine pyrophosphate
[′thī·ə·mən ¦pī·rō′fä‚sfāt] (biochemistry)
The coenzyme or prosthetic component of carboxylase; catalyzes decarboxylation of various α-keto acids. Also known as cocarboxylase.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Thiamine Pyrophosphate
(also cocarboxylase), a coenzyme that participates in the enzymic transformations of α-keto acids and keto sugars; it is present in all animal and plant tissues, as well as in microorganisms.
The catalytic activity of thiamine pyrophosphate is associated with ionization of the carbon atom in the second position of the thiazole ring, to which a molecule of a substrate attaches itself. In industry, thiamine pyrophosphate is obtained from thiamine and pyrophosphoric acid. (For the medical use of thiamine pyrophosphate, SeeCOCARBOXYLASE.)
REFERENCE
Kokarboksilaza i drugie tiaminfosfaty. Minsk, 1974.The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.