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MS
PW-052 Xenobiotic & Drug Metabolism Biotransformation unreviewed

Phase II - Conjugation

Phase I metabolite or parent drug Water-soluble conjugate (glucuronide, sulfate, GSH, acetyl, methyl)
Compartment
Cytosol + ER
Main tissue
Liver mainly
Rate-limiting
Not flagged in the source
Steps
5

Reaction steps

In source order, 5 total

showing 1–5
  1. 1

    Substrate + UDP-glucuronate -> glucuronide + UDP

    › Notes

    Quantitatively the most important conjugation; the pathway that clears bilirubin (UGT1A1) and many drugs.

  2. 2

    Substrate + PAPS -> sulfate conjugate + PAP

    Sulfotransferase (SULT) 2.8.2.- ST-0371 Irreversible/directional PAPS
    In PAPS
    Out PAP
    › Notes

    High-affinity but low-capacity; saturates before glucuronidation.

  3. 3

    Electrophile + GSH -> GS-conjugate -> mercapturic acid

    › Notes

    Detoxifies reactive intermediates such as NAPQI from paracetamol.

  4. 4

    Substrate + acetyl-CoA -> acetylated metabolite + CoA-SH

    N-acetyltransferase (NAT1/NAT2) 2.3.1.5 ST-0373 Irreversible/directional Acetyl-CoA
    › Notes

    NAT2 slow-acetylator status predisposes to isoniazid neuropathy and hydralazine-induced lupus.

  5. 5

    Substrate + SAM -> methylated metabolite + SAH

    › Notes

    TPMT deficiency causes severe myelosuppression with azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine.

Showing all 5 steps.

Recent literature

Live Europe PMC search

Europe PMC · fetched just now · sorted by publication date

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    Rarely reported cases of hepatotoxicity associated with turmeric- and curcuminoid-containing dietary supplements: a comprehensive review by USP.

    Akhtar N, Barnes J, Gardiner P, Gurley BJ, Ko R, Koturbash I, Patel D, van Breemen RB, Roe AL. · 2026-06-27

    cited 1× open access unreviewed
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    First-trimester preeclampsia prediction model via integrative machine learning of maternal risk profiles and laboratory markers.

    Zhu Y, Zhang Y, Huang C, Zhang S, Cao J, Miranda N, Zhao S, Peng Y, Yu C, Feng B, Jin J, Tang Q, Fan J, Qiao … · 2026-02-09

    cited 1× open access unreviewed
  7. 7
    Polyphenol‐Rich Foods as a Healthy and Sustainable Strategy: Mental Health and Metabolomic Profiling

    Gómez Nieto M, Puertas‐Martín V, Chamorro S, Méndez‐Guerrero A, Álvarez‐Acero I, Balderas C, de Pascual‐Teres… · 2026-10-07

    open access unreviewed
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    Bile acid signaling in health and disease.

    Fan Z, He M, Liang T, Zhang B, Zhao N, Li P. · 2026-10-02

    open access unreviewed
  10. 10
    Concurrent Antidepressant Use and Metastasis Risk Among Women Receiving Tamoxifen for Breast Cancer: A Real-World Cohort Study.

    Elshafie S, Zuber M, Gomez-Lumbreras A, Malone DC, Villa Zapata L. · 2026-10-01

    open access unreviewed

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