Background
Argininosuccinate lyase (ASL), one of the significant UC enzymes, catalyzes argininosuccinate cleavage to generate arginine and fumarate. Arginine is then catalyzed by arginase to ornithine and polyamines, which are found to promote cancer cell proliferation and growth. Importantly, ASL ectopic expression is closely associated with poor prognosis of colorectal cancer, hepatocellular. ASL is a member of the aspartase/fumarase superfamily. Enzymes of this superfamily share similar tetrameric structure and active site, though the sequence identities between different members are quite low (less than 20%). Members of this superfamily have been recognised as drug targets for microbial infections.
