AMINO ACID

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does amino acid mean? 

• AMINO ACID (noun)
  The noun AMINO ACID has 1 sense:

1. organic compounds containing an amino group and a carboxylic acid group

  Familiarity information: AMINO ACID used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AMINO ACID (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Organic compounds containing an amino group and a carboxylic acid group

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

amino acid; aminoalkanoic acid

Context example:

proteins are composed of various proportions of about 20 common amino acids

Hypernyms ("amino acid" is a kind of...):

organic compound (any compound of carbon and another element or a radical)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "amino acid"):

glycine (the simplest amino acid found in proteins and the principal amino acid in sugar cane)

tyrosine (an amino acid found in most proteins; a precursor of several hormones)

tyramine (amino acid derived from tyrosine; has a sympathomimetic action; found in chocolate and cola drinks and ripe cheese and beer)

thyronine (a phenolic amino acid of which thyroxine is a derivative)

serine (a sweetish crystalline amino acid involved in the synthesis by the body of cysteine)

sarcosine (a sweetish crystalline amino acid)

creatin; creatine (an amino acid that does not occur in proteins but is found in the muscle tissue of vertebrates both in the free form and as phosphocreatine; supplies energy for muscle contraction)

proline (an amino acid that is found in many proteins (especially collagen))

ornithine (an amino acid that does not occur in proteins but is important in the formation of urea)

iodoamino acid (an amino acid with iodine added)

hydroxyproline (a crystalline amino acid obtained from gelatin or collagen)

alanine (a crystalline amino acid that occurs in many proteins)

glutamine (a crystalline amino acid occurring in proteins; important in protein metabolism)

glutamic acid; glutaminic acid (an amino acid occurring in proteins; important in the nitrogen metabolism of plants; used in monosodium glutamate to enhance the flavor of meats)

GABA; gamma aminobutyric acid (an amino acid that is found in the central nervous system; acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter)

essential amino acid (an amino acid that is required by animals but that they cannot synthesize; must be supplied in the diet)

dihydroxyphenylalanine; dopa (amino acid that is formed in the liver and converted into dopamine in the brain)

cystine (a crystalline amino acid found in proteins (especially keratin); discovered in bladder stones)

cysteine (an amino acid containing sulfur that is found in most proteins; oxidizes on exposure to air to form cystine)

citrulline (an amino acid that does not occur in proteins but is an intermediate in the conversion of ornithine to arginine)

canavanine (an amino acid found in the jack bean)

aspartic acid (a crystalline amino acid found in proteins and occurring naturally in sugar beets and sugar cane)

asparagine (a crystalline amino acid found in proteins and in many plants (e.g., asparagus))

Holonyms ("amino acid" is a substance of...):

protein (any of a large group of nitrogenous organic compounds that are essential constituents of living cells; consist of polymers of amino acids; essential in the diet of animals for growth and for repair of tissues; can be obtained from meat and eggs and milk and legumes)

 Context examples 

Encoded by human APCL Gene, 2303-amino acid 244 kD tumor suppressor APCL Protein is similar to APC and regulates formation of active Beta-Catenin/TCF complexes.

(Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Like Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

The sequence contains an alternating pattern of hydrophobic and positively charged amino acids.

(Mitochondrial Import Sequence, NCI Thesaurus)

This protein plays a role in amino acid modification.

(Adenosylhomocysteinase, NCI Thesaurus)

It breaks down the amino acid arginine and may block the growth of cancer cells that need arginine to grow.

(ADI-PEG 20, NCI Dictionary)

A vaccine containing HER2/Neu-derived epitope (amino acids 776-790) linked to li-Key peptide (li-Key/HER2/neu hybrid peptide or AE37), and combined with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), with potential antineoplastic and immunoadjuvant activities.

(AE37 Peptide/GM-CSF Vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)

The high-molecular-weight Arf GEP subfamily includes yeast Sec7, Gea1, and Gea2, and mammalian BIG1/p200, BIG2, and GBF1, which all consist of 1,400-2,000 amino acid residues.

(ADP-Ribosylation Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

A synthetic amino acid radiolabeled with carbon-11.

(Methionine C 11, NCI Thesaurus)

A modified amino acid and structural analog of glutamine.

(Acivicin, NCI Thesaurus)

Encoded by human oncogene AKAP13 Gene, 424-amino acid 49 kD A Kinase Anchor Protein 13 is a signal transduction RHO/RAC GEF involved in cytoskeletal organization and cell cycle progression.

(A Kinase Anchor Protein 13, NCI Thesaurus)

The 1,781-amino acid 191 kD cytoplasmic anchoring protein appears to mediate compartmentation of PKA and PKC in the cortical cytoskeleton.

(A Kinase Anchor Protein 12, NCI Thesaurus)