Methylation is a major biological process. It has been shown to be important in formation of compounds such as phosphatidylcholine, creatine, and many others and also participates in epigenetic effects through methylation of histones and DNA. The donor of methyl groups for almost all cellular methylation reactions is S-adenosylmethionine. It seems that the level of S-adenosylmethionine must be regulated in response to developmental stages and metabolic changes, and the enzyme glycine N-methyltransferase has been shown to play a major role in such regulation in mammals. This minireview will focus on the latest discoveries in the elucidation of the mechanism of that regulation.
Discovery of S-Adenosylmethionine and Its VersatilityAdoMet 2 was discovered in 1951 by Cantoni as the "active methionine" used in the enzymatic transfer of the methyl group of methionine to nicotinamide to form N 1 -methylnicotinamide (1). With the exception of a few intracellular parasites that take up AdoMet from their hosts, AdoMet is formed from ATP and methionine by methionine adenosyltransferases present in all (or virtually all) cells of all organisms, including archaea, eubacteria, and eukaryotes. The reaction involves, initially, transfer of the adenosyl group of ATP to methionine, with the remainder of the ATP being converted to enzyme-bound tripolyphosphate. The latter compound is hydrolyzed to pyrophosphate and phosphate, which are then released (2). Being a sulfonium compound, AdoMet provides the large amounts of free energy (20 ϳkcal/mol) needed for methyl group transfers.AdoMet is possibly the most (or, compared with ATP, the second most) versatile compound in Nature. It is a source not only of methyl groups but, in diverse reactions in various organisms, provides methylene groups, four-carbon moieties, ribosyl groups, amino groups, and, after decarboxylation, threecarbon moieties for polyamines and ethylene (3). It may be converted to a 5Ј-deoxyadenosyl free radical that participates in a great variety of "radical SAM" reactions (4). AdoMet also functions as a regulator of many metabolic pathways in mammals, plants, and bacteria.In mammals, Ͼ90% of AdoMet is used for methylation reactions by at least 50 different methyltransferases (5). Methylation of both small molecules (e.g. phosphatidylethanolamine and guanidinoacetate) and macromolecules (DNA, RNA, histones, and other proteins) plays critical roles in cellular metabolism. Methylations of DNA and histones are major events in epigenetics. Therefore, the level of AdoMet must be carefully regulated to maintain cellular homeostasis. Recent evidence has established that GNMT plays a major role in maintaining normal AdoMet levels in mammals.
GNMT Genes and ProteinsIn 1960, enzymatically catalyzed direct transfer of a methyl group from AdoMet to glycine (forming sarcosine) was demonstrated. The activity was found in liver extracts from guinea pig, rat, rabbit, and mouse, but the enzyme was not purified until 1972 when Heady and Kerr, upon finding that glycine was a better acce...