Methylthioadenosine nucleosidase

In enzymology, a methylthioadenosine nucleosidase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction


 * S-methyl-5'-thioadenosine + H2O $$\rightleftharpoons$$ S-methyl-5-thio-D-ribose + adenine

Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are S-methyl-5'-thioadenosine and H2O, whereas its two products are S-methyl-5-thio-D-ribose and adenine.

This enzyme belongs to the family of hydrolases, specifically those glycosylases that hydrolyse N-glycosyl compounds. The systematic name of this enzyme class is S-methyl-5'-thioadenosine adeninehyrolase. Other names in common use include 5'-methylthioadenosine nucleosidase, MTA nucleosidase, MeSAdo nucleosidase, and methylthioadenosine methylthioribohydrolase. This enzyme participates in urea cycle and metabolism of amino groups and methionine metabolism.

Structural studies
As of late 2007, 6 structures have been solved for this class of enzymes, with PDB accession codes, , , , , and.