Cauxin

Cauxin is a peptidase that is excreted in large amounts in cat urine. Cauxine has been shown to hydrolyze 3-methylbutanol-cysteinylglycine (3-MBCG) in the urine into felinine which then slowly degrades into the putative cat pheromone 3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol (MMB).[1]

Cauxin protein from feline urine was reported in 2008 to act as a nucleator for struvite crystals, in an in vivo system containing magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate ions. [2] Thus, this protein may act as one cause for feline urinary stones.

Chemistry

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Felinine MMB

See also

References

  1. ^ M. Miyazaki, T. Yamashita, Y. Suzuki, Y. Saito, S. Soeta, H. Taira, and A. Suzuki (October 2006). "A major urinary protein of the domestic cat regulates the production of felinine, a putative pheromone precursor" (pdf). Chem. Biol. 13 (10): 1071–1079. doi:10.1016/j.chembiol.2006.08.013. PMID 17052611. 
  2. ^ Cauxin from feline urine as nucleator for struvite