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Quinone Reductase 2 Is A Flavin Redox Switch, Kevin Ka Ki Leung

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Quinone reductase 2 (NQO2) is a mammalian enzyme that catalyzes the reduction of quinone using an unusual co-substrate, dihydronicotinamide riboside (NRH). In addition, NQO2 has a secondary function, which is to modulate the 20S proteasomal degradation of p53 in a redox-dependent manner. This alternate function has been characterized in its sister enzyme quinone reductase 1 (NQO1) and yeast quinone reductase Lot6p, but relatively few studies have investigated the role of NQO2 beyond quinone catalysis. From studies of Lot6p, it was proposed that quinone reductases could be categorized as flavin redox switches. In this thesis, the how NQO2 functions as a …