Metabolic Conjugation and Metabolic Hydrolysis, Volume I is a comprehensive account of the main conjugation mechanisms and hydrolytic reactions. Topics covered range from the metabolic conjugates of steroids and N-hydroxy compounds to the effects of conjugated steroids on enzymes. The glucuronic acid pathway is also discussed, along with sulfoconjugation and sulfohydrolysis. Comprised of eight chapters, this volume first looks at the history of conjugation mechanisms before proceeding to developments in metabolic conjugations. The isolation, recognition, enzymic formation and hydrolysis, and the possible significance of steroid N-acetylglucosaminides and glucosides are considered. The book also examines the mechanisms involved in the enzymic formation of N-hydroxy compounds; the pathways by which N-hydroxy compounds may be further metabolized in vivo; and the chemical properties of conjugates of N-hydroxy compounds, particularly as these properties are related to the generation of reactive cations or free radicals in vivo. The possible role of conjugates of N-hydroxy compounds in the mechanism of carcinogenesis by aromatic amines and their N-acyl derivatives is also analyzed. Finally, glycoprotein and mucopolysaccharide hydrolysis and the role of hydrolases in cellular death are described. This monograph will be a useful resource for biologists, biochemists, physiologists, and pharmacologists.
