Medical Definition of Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase
1.
An NADP+ enzyme that catalyses the dehydrogenation (oxidation) of d-glucose-6-phosphate to 6-phospho-d-glucono-d-lactone, this reaction initiating the Dickens shunt.
Deficiency of this enzyme is the commonest disease-causing enzyme defect in humans affecting an estimated 400 million people.
The gene for this enzyme is on the X chromosome. Males with the enzyme deficiency develop haemolytic anaemia when red blood cells are exposed to oxidant drugs such as the antimalarial primaquine, the sulfonamide antibiotics or sulfones, naphthalene moth balls, or fava beans.
Synonym: Robison ester dehydrogenase, Zwischenferment.
Acronym: G6PD
(12 Sep 2002)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase
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