ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences2020
The Uniqueness of Tryptophan in Biology: Properties, Metabolism, Interactions and Localization in Proteins.
Review in International journal of molecular sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 112 papers.
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Who cites it
112 citing papers in PubMed, 224 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Vibrio cholerae-synthesized tryptophan activates innate immune signaling in enteroendocrine cells via phosphorylation of the nuclear receptor ultraspiracle.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Structural and functional dissection of human neurolysin through alanine-scanning mutagenesis.The FEBS journal · 2026Article
- Self-assembling proteins compose the chemically resistant shell biomaterial of planktonic tintinnid ciliates.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Unveiling the antioxidant and anti-epileptic potential ofRSC advances · 2026Article
- The Gut-Liver Axis in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD): Mechanisms, Microbiome Interactions and Therapeutic Targets.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Review
- Sequence to structure insights into Lassa virus population-level biophysical properties and glycoprotein structure catalogue.Npj viruses · 2026Article
- Article
- Artemether and Euphorbia factor L9 suppress kynurenine production through distinct effects on tryptophan metabolism.The Biochemical journal · 2026Article
- L-Tryptophan Stimulates Bioactive Metabolite Accumulation and Cell Wall Remodelling in Flax Callus Cultures.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Covalent Protein Inhibitors via Tyrosine and Tryptophan Conjugation with Cyclic Imine Mannich Electrophiles.Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2026Article
- Article
- Targeted Profiling of Tryptophan- and Tyrosine-Derived Metabolites in Traditionally Fermented Foods.Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2026Article
- TseCurrent research in microbial sciences · 2026Article
- Tryptophan metabolite atlas uncovers organ, age, and sex-specific variations.FEBS open bio · 2026Article
- Depletion of tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase and tryptophan accumulation triggers p53-dependent apoptosis.Cell death discovery · 2025Article
- A Generalized AI View of Tricopeptide Repeats: What's in a Name.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- A multi-omics analysis unveils functional and regulatory links between hydroxybenzene and aromatic amino acid metabolism inmSystems · 2025Article
- Conformational Analysis of 3-Indoleacetamide: Unveiling Structural Rigidity in the Tryptophan-Derived Bioactive Molecule Family.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Alternate RNA decoding results in stable and abundant proteins in mammals.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
52 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
1 author.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Tryptophan (Trp) holds a unique place in biology for a multitude of reasons. It is the largest of all twenty amino acids in the translational toolbox. Its side chain is indole, which is aromatic with a binuclear ring structure, whereas those of Phe, Tyr, and His are single-ring aromatics. In part due to these elaborate structural features, the biosynthetic pathway of Trp is the most complex and the most energy-consuming among all amino acids. Essential in the animal diet, Trp is also the least abundant amino acid in the cell, and one of the rarest in the proteome. In most eukaryotes, Trp is the only amino acid besides Met, which is coded for by a single codon, namely UGG. Due to the large and hydrophobic π-electron surface area, its aromatic side chain interacts with multiple other side chains in the protein, befitting its strategic locations in the protein structure. Finally, several Trp derivatives, namely tryptophylquinone, oxitriptan, serotonin, melatonin, and tryptophol, have specialized functions. Overall, Trp is a scarce and precious amino acid in the cell, such that nature uses it parsimoniously, for multiple but selective functions. Here, the various aspects of the uniqueness of Trp are presented in molecular terms.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.