D-amino acid oxidase
Medical
### Medical

#### Cancer treatment

RgDAAO is used in a process called [gene\-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT)](/wiki/GDEPT "GDEPT") to treat tumors in cancer patients. This treatment uses RgDAAO as the enzyme and [D\-alanine](/wiki/D-alanine "D-alanine") as a substrate to create a reactive oxygen species H2O2 as a product. H2O2 permeates through tumor cells and damages [biopolymers](/wiki/Biopolymers "Biopolymers"). The damage done by [H2O2](/wiki/H2O2 "H2O2") creates a cytotoxic metabolite from a nontoxic [prodrug](/wiki/Prodrug "Prodrug") within the tumor cells, which then creates a toxic substance in those cells alone. This process is beneficial for cancer patients, because this treatment is toxic only to tumor cells, while [chemotherapy](/wiki/Chemotherapy "Chemotherapy") is toxic to all cells in the patient's body. D\-amino acid oxidase also plays a role in 4\-Methylthio\-2\-oxobutyric acid (MTOBA) production, which is used as an anticancer drug which induces apoptosis of cancer cells.

#### Therapeutic treatments

D\-amino acid oxidase is used in therapeutic treatments such as regulation of hormones, regulation of [hypertension](/wiki/Hypertension "Hypertension"), treatment of schizophrenia, treatment of psychiatric and cognitive disorders, and possible pain reduction. Changing the amount of D\-amino acid oxidase transporters with the use of drugs has therapeutic effects on schizophrenia. D\-amino acid oxidase regulates D\-Aspartate, which regulates the secretion of [melatonin](/wiki/Melatonin "Melatonin"), [prolactin](/wiki/Prolactin "Prolactin"), [testosterone](/wiki/Testosterone "Testosterone"), [luteinizing hormone](/wiki/Luteinizing_hormone "Luteinizing hormone") and [growth hormone](/wiki/Growth_hormone "Growth hormone"). By regulating D\-amino acid oxidase, D\-Aspartate can also be regulated and control hormone secretion. Increased D\-amino acid oxidase activity has been correlated with psychiatric and cognitive disorders, so reducing D\-amino acid oxidase can have therapeutic effects on these disorders. D\-amino acid oxidase helps produce L\-6\-hydroxynorleucine, which then generates [Omapatrilat](/wiki/Omapatrilat "Omapatrilat"). Omapatrilat inhibits [angiotensin\-converting enzyme](/wiki/Angiotensin-converting_enzyme "Angiotensin-converting enzyme") and [neutral endopeptidase](/wiki/Neutral_endopeptidase "Neutral endopeptidase") and effectively reduces hypertension. D\-amino acid oxidase also may have an effect on pain stimuli, but it is not confirmed yet.


What are the implications of regulating D-aspartate on hormone secretion?