General information of D-AMINO ACID OXIDASE

D-amino acid oxidase is a peroxisomal enzyme containing FAD as cofactor that is expressed in a wide range of species from yeasts to human. It is not present in bacteria or in plants. Its function is to oxidize D-amino acids to the corresponding imino acids, producing ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. Recently, mammalian D-amino acid oxidase has been connected to the brain D-serine metabolism and to the regulation of the glutamatergic neurotransmission. In a postmortem study, the activity of D-amino acid oxidase was found to be two-fold higher in schizophrenia.D-amino acid oxidase is a candidate susceptibility gene and together with G72 may play a role in the glutamatergic mechanisms of schizophrenia. D-Amino acid oxidase has several possible applications such as the determination of D-amino acids, the separation of natural L- amino acid isomers from a racemic mixture and in the preparation of keto acids. The usefulness and application of D-amino acid oxidase can be significantly increased if it is available in an immobilized form.