Heme degradation

Stable Identifier
R-HSA-189483
Type
Pathway
Species
Homo sapiens
ReviewStatus
5/5
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Heme degradation
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Most of the heme degraded in humans comes from hemoglobin. Approximately 6-8 grams of hemoglobin is degraded daily which is equivalent to approximately 300 milligrams of heme per day. Heme is not recycled so it must be degraded and excreted. The iron, however, is conserved. There are two steps to heme degradation;
1. cleavage of the heme ring by a microsomal heme oxygenase producing biliverdin
2. biliverdin is reduced to bilirubin.
Bilirubin can then be conjugated with glucuronic acid and excreted.
Literature References
PubMed ID Title Journal Year
12909459 Heme oxygenase-1: unleashing the protective properties of heme

Soares, MP, Otterbein, LE, Yamashita, K, Bach, FH

Trends Immunol 2003
Participants
Events
Participates
as an event of
Event Information
Go Biological Process
heme catabolic process (0042167)
Orthologous Events
Heme degradation (Bos taurus)
Heme degradation (Caenorhabditis elegans)
Heme degradation (Canis familiaris)
Heme degradation (Danio rerio)
Heme degradation (Dictyostelium discoideum)
Heme degradation (Drosophila melanogaster)
Heme degradation (Gallus gallus)
Heme degradation (Mus musculus)
Heme degradation (Plasmodium falciparum)
Heme degradation (Rattus norvegicus)
Heme degradation (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)
Heme degradation (Schizosaccharomyces pombe)
Heme degradation (Sus scrofa)
Heme degradation (Xenopus tropicalis)
Reviewed
Sassa, S  (2007-01-24)
Created
Jassal, B  (2006-11-20)
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