Mevalonic acid

Mevalonic acid is a six-carbon hydroxy acid formed from HMG-CoA in the mevalonate pathway. Its phosphorylated derivatives are precursors to cholesterol and other isoprenoids.

Mevalonate kinase: An enzyme that phosphorylates mevalonate using ATP. It performs the first ATP-dependent step after mevalonate is formed.
Cholesterol: A sterol in animal membranes and a precursor to steroid hormones, bile acids, and vitamin D. Mevalonate-derived isoprenoid units are assembled into the cholesterol carbon skeleton.
Methylerythritol phosphate pathway: An alternative pathway that produces isoprenoid precursors from pyruvate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. Many bacteria and plants use this route instead of making mevalonate.
Hydroxy acid: An organic acid containing both a carboxyl group and a hydroxyl group. Mevalonic acid belongs to this structural class, with its hydroxyl on carbon three.
Phosphomevalonate kinase: An enzyme that converts 5-phosphomevalonate into mevalonate diphosphate. It adds the second phosphate required before pathway decarboxylation.
Ubiquinone: A lipid-soluble electron carrier in the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Its isoprenoid side chain is synthesized from mevalonate-derived building blocks.
Statin: A class of drugs that inhibits HMG-CoA reductase and lowers cholesterol synthesis. Statins reduce mevalonate production by blocking its immediate biosynthetic enzyme.
HMG-CoA: A coenzyme A thioester formed from acetyl-CoA and acetoacetyl-CoA. This molecule is reduced directly to mevalonate by HMG-CoA reductase.
Mevalonate diphosphate decarboxylase: An enzyme that converts mevalonate diphosphate into isopentenyl diphosphate. It produces the first five-carbon isoprenoid unit from the six-carbon precursor.
Dolichol: A long-chain polyisoprenoid alcohol that carries sugars during protein glycosylation. Its repeating isoprene units ultimately derive from mevalonate in animals.

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