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. 2008 Nov 1;3(6):715-724.
doi: 10.1586/17446651.3.6.715.

Biotin and biotinidase deficiency

Janos Zempleni  1 , Yousef I Hassan, Subhashinee Sk Wijeratne
Affiliations

Biotin and biotinidase deficiency

Janos Zempleni et al. Expert Rev Endocrinol Metab. .

Abstract

Biotin is a water-soluble vitamin that serves as an essential coenzyme for five carboxylases in mammals. Biotin-dependent carboxylases catalyze the fixation of bicarbonate in organic acids and play crucial roles in the metabolism of fatty acids, amino acids and glucose. Carboxylase activities decrease substantially in response to biotin deficiency. Biotin is also covalently attached to histones; biotinylated histones are enriched in repeat regions in the human genome and appear to play a role in transcriptional repression of genes and genome stability. Biotin deficiency may be caused by insufficient dietary uptake of biotin, drug-vitamin interactions and, perhaps, by increased biotin catabolism during pregnancy and in smokers. Biotin deficiency can also be precipitated by decreased activities of the following proteins that play critical roles in biotin homeostasis: the vitamin transporters sodium-dependent multivitamin transporter and monocarboxylate transporter 1, which mediate biotin transport in the intestine, liver and peripheral tissues, and renal reabsorption; holocarboxylase synthetase, which mediates the binding of biotin to carboxylases and histones; and biotinidase, which plays a central role in the intestinal absorption of biotin, the transport of biotin in plasma and the regulation of histone biotinylation. Symptoms of biotin deficiency include seizures, hypotonia, ataxia, dermatitis, hair loss, mental retardation, ketolactic acidosis, organic aciduria and also fetal malformations. This review focuses on the deficiencies of both biotin and biotinidase, and the medical management of such cases.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Biotin and its homeostasis
ACC: Acetyl-CoA carboxylase; B: Biotin; BTD: Biotinidase; HCS: Holocarboxylase synthetase; MCC: 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase; MCT1: Monocarboxylate transporter 1; PC: Pyruvate carboxylase; PCC: Propionyl-CoA carboxylase; SMVT: Sodium-dependent multivitamin transporter.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Modification sites in histones H2A, H3 and H4
Ac: Acetate; B: Biotin; M: Methyl; P: Phosphate; U: Ubiquitin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Website

    1. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Online Mendelian inheritance in man. [Accessed 21 July 2008]. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=omim.

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