Recent Developments in the Research on Glucuronidation

Abstract

UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) catalyzes a transfer of glucuronic acid from UDP-glucuronic acid to various endogenous and exogenous compounds and is located in the endoplasmic reticulum of liver and other tissues. Glucuronidation is a major detoxication reaction and provides great effects on the metabolism, disposition and excretion of pharmacologically and toxicologically active compounds. There are several UGT isoenzymes with different and overlapping substrate specificities and under different regulation. During the last decade, there has been a dramatical increase in the understanding of the structure and function of UGT isoenzymes especially through the recombinant DNA technology. This review concentrates on the recent developments in the research on glucuronidation and deals with purification, cloning, gene structure, deficiency, chromosomal location and function of UGT isoenzymes and glucuronides as active metabolites. © 1992, The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan. All rights reserved.