Hmdb loader
Show more...Show more...Show more...Show more...Show more...Show more...Show more...
Record Information
Version5.0
StatusDetected and Quantified
Creation Date2005-11-16 15:48:42 UTC
Update Date2023-02-21 17:14:41 UTC
HMDB IDHMDB0000294
Secondary Accession Numbers
  • HMDB00294
Metabolite Identification
Common NameUrea
DescriptionUrea is a highly soluble organic compound formed in the liver from ammonia produced by the deamination of amino acids. It is the principal end product of protein catabolism and constitutes about one half of the total urinary solids. Urea is formed in a cyclic pathway known simply as the urea cycle. In this cycle, amino groups donated by ammonia and L-aspartate are converted to urea. Urea is essentially a waste product; it has no physiological function. It is dissolved in blood (in humans in a concentration of 2.5 - 7.5 mmol/liter) and excreted by the kidney in the urine. In addition, a small amount of urea is excreted (along with sodium chloride and water) in human sweat. Urea is found to be associated with primary hypomagnesemia, which is an inborn error of metabolism.
Structure
Thumb
Synonyms
Chemical FormulaCH4N2O
Average Molecular Weight60.0553
Monoisotopic Molecular Weight60.03236276
IUPAC Nameurea
Traditional Nameurea
CAS Registry Number57-13-6
SMILES
NC(N)=O
InChI Identifier
InChI=1S/CH4N2O/c2-1(3)4/h(H4,2,3,4)
InChI KeyXSQUKJJJFZCRTK-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Chemical Taxonomy
Description Belongs to the class of organic compounds known as ureas. Ureas are compounds containing two amine groups joined by a carbonyl (C=O) functional group.
KingdomOrganic compounds
Super ClassOrganic acids and derivatives
ClassOrganic carbonic acids and derivatives
Sub ClassUreas
Direct ParentUreas
Alternative Parents
Substituents
  • Urea
  • Organic nitrogen compound
  • Organic oxygen compound
  • Organopnictogen compound
  • Organic oxide
  • Hydrocarbon derivative
  • Organooxygen compound
  • Organonitrogen compound
  • Carbonyl group
  • Aliphatic acyclic compound
Molecular FrameworkAliphatic acyclic compounds
External Descriptors
Ontology
Physiological effect
Disposition
Biological locationRoute of exposureSource
Process
Naturally occurring process
Role
Physical Properties
StateSolid
Experimental Molecular Properties
PropertyValueReference
Melting Point132 °CNot Available
Boiling PointNot AvailableNot Available
Water Solubility545 mg/mLNot Available
LogP-2.11HANSCH,C ET AL. (1995)
Experimental Chromatographic PropertiesNot Available
Predicted Molecular Properties
Predicted Chromatographic Properties
Spectra
Biological Properties
Cellular Locations
  • Extracellular
  • Mitochondria
Biospecimen Locations
  • Blood
  • Breast Milk
  • Cellular Cytoplasm
  • Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)
  • Feces
  • Saliva
  • Sweat
  • Urine
Tissue Locations
  • Epidermis
  • Kidney
  • Liver
  • Placenta
  • Prostate
Pathways
Normal Concentrations
Abnormal Concentrations
Associated Disorders and Diseases
Disease References
Cirrhosis
  1. Marescau B, De Deyn PP, Holvoet J, Possemiers I, Nagels G, Saxena V, Mahler C: Guanidino compounds in serum and urine of cirrhotic patients. Metabolism. 1995 May;44(5):584-8. [PubMed:7752905 ]
Colorectal cancer
  1. Ni Y, Xie G, Jia W: Metabonomics of human colorectal cancer: new approaches for early diagnosis and biomarker discovery. J Proteome Res. 2014 Sep 5;13(9):3857-70. doi: 10.1021/pr500443c. Epub 2014 Aug 14. [PubMed:25105552 ]
  2. Sinha R, Ahn J, Sampson JN, Shi J, Yu G, Xiong X, Hayes RB, Goedert JJ: Fecal Microbiota, Fecal Metabolome, and Colorectal Cancer Interrelations. PLoS One. 2016 Mar 25;11(3):e0152126. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152126. eCollection 2016. [PubMed:27015276 ]
  3. Goedert JJ, Sampson JN, Moore SC, Xiao Q, Xiong X, Hayes RB, Ahn J, Shi J, Sinha R: Fecal metabolomics: assay performance and association with colorectal cancer. Carcinogenesis. 2014 Sep;35(9):2089-96. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgu131. Epub 2014 Jul 18. [PubMed:25037050 ]
Primary hypomagnesemia
  1. Jin-no Y, Kamiya Y, Okada M, Hirako M, Takada N, Kawaguchi M: Primary hypomagnesemia caused by isolated magnesium malabsorption: atypical case in adult. Intern Med. 1999 Mar;38(3):261-5. [PubMed:10337938 ]
Bartter Syndrome, Type 2, Antenatal
  1. Chan WK, To KF, Tong JH, Law CW: Paradoxical hypertension and salt wasting in Type II Bartter syndrome. Clin Kidney J. 2012 Jun;5(3):217-20. doi: 10.1093/ckj/sfs026. Epub 2012 Mar 29. [PubMed:26069767 ]
Bartter Syndrome, Type 4B, Neonatal, With Sensorineural Deafness
  1. Nozu K, Inagaki T, Fu XJ, Nozu Y, Kaito H, Kanda K, Sekine T, Igarashi T, Nakanishi K, Yoshikawa N, Iijima K, Matsuo M: Molecular analysis of digenic inheritance in Bartter syndrome with sensorineural deafness. J Med Genet. 2008 Mar;45(3):182-6. doi: 10.1136/jmg.2007.052944. [PubMed:18310267 ]
Dimethylglycine Dehydrogenase Deficiency
  1. Moolenaar SH, Poggi-Bach J, Engelke UF, Corstiaensen JM, Heerschap A, de Jong JG, Binzak BA, Vockley J, Wevers RA: Defect in dimethylglycine dehydrogenase, a new inborn error of metabolism: NMR spectroscopy study. Clin Chem. 1999 Apr;45(4):459-64. [PubMed:10102904 ]
Uremia
  1. Vanholder R, De Smet R, Glorieux G, Argiles A, Baurmeister U, Brunet P, Clark W, Cohen G, De Deyn PP, Deppisch R, Descamps-Latscha B, Henle T, Jorres A, Lemke HD, Massy ZA, Passlick-Deetjen J, Rodriguez M, Stegmayr B, Stenvinkel P, Tetta C, Wanner C, Zidek W: Review on uremic toxins: classification, concentration, and interindividual variability. Kidney Int. 2003 May;63(5):1934-43. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1755.2003.00924.x. [PubMed:12675874 ]
Tuberculous meningitis
  1. Subramanian A, Gupta A, Saxena S, Gupta A, Kumar R, Nigam A, Kumar R, Mandal SK, Roy R: Proton MR CSF analysis and a new software as predictors for the differentiation of meningitis in children. NMR Biomed. 2005 Jun;18(4):213-25. [PubMed:15627241 ]
Meningitis
  1. Subramanian A, Gupta A, Saxena S, Gupta A, Kumar R, Nigam A, Kumar R, Mandal SK, Roy R: Proton MR CSF analysis and a new software as predictors for the differentiation of meningitis in children. NMR Biomed. 2005 Jun;18(4):213-25. [PubMed:15627241 ]
Supragingival Plaque
  1. Liebsch C, Pitchika V, Pink C, Samietz S, Kastenmuller G, Artati A, Suhre K, Adamski J, Nauck M, Volzke H, Friedrich N, Kocher T, Holtfreter B, Pietzner M: The Saliva Metabolome in Association to Oral Health Status. J Dent Res. 2019 Jun;98(6):642-651. doi: 10.1177/0022034519842853. Epub 2019 Apr 26. [PubMed:31026179 ]
Eosinophilic esophagitis
  1. Slae, M., Huynh, H., Wishart, D.S. (2014). Analysis of 30 normal pediatric urine samples via NMR spectroscopy (unpublished work). NA.
Hepatocellular carcinoma
  1. Wu H, Xue R, Dong L, Liu T, Deng C, Zeng H, Shen X: Metabolomic profiling of human urine in hepatocellular carcinoma patients using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Anal Chim Acta. 2009 Aug 19;648(1):98-104. doi: 10.1016/j.aca.2009.06.033. Epub 2009 Jun 21. [PubMed:19616694 ]
Perillyl alcohol administration for cancer treatment
  1. Nam H, Chung BC, Kim Y, Lee K, Lee D: Combining tissue transcriptomics and urine metabolomics for breast cancer biomarker identification. Bioinformatics. 2009 Dec 1;25(23):3151-7. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btp558. Epub 2009 Sep 25. [PubMed:19783829 ]
Associated OMIM IDs
  • 114500 (Colorectal cancer)
  • 248250 (Primary hypomagnesemia)
  • 241200 (Bartter Syndrome, Type 2, Antenatal)
  • 613090 (Bartter Syndrome, Type 4B, Neonatal, With Sensorineural Deafness)
  • 605850 (Dimethylglycine Dehydrogenase Deficiency)
  • 610247 (Eosinophilic esophagitis)
  • 114550 (Hepatocellular carcinoma)
DrugBank IDDB03904
Phenol Explorer Compound IDNot Available
FooDB IDFDB012174
KNApSAcK IDC00007314
Chemspider ID1143
KEGG Compound IDC00086
BioCyc IDUREA
BiGG ID33799
Wikipedia LinkUrea
METLIN ID6
PubChem Compound1176
PDB IDNot Available
ChEBI ID16199
Food Biomarker OntologyNot Available
VMH IDUREA
MarkerDB IDMDB00000138
Good Scents IDNot Available
References
Synthesis ReferenceLeuthardt, F.; Glasson, B. Biological synthesis of urea. Verhandl. Ver. schweiz. Physiol. (1942), 21 25-7.
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)Not Available
General References

Only showing the first 10 proteins. There are 12 proteins in total.

Enzymes

General function:
Involved in arginase activity
Specific function:
Not Available
Gene Name:
ARG1
Uniprot ID:
P05089
Molecular weight:
34734.655
Reactions
L-Arginine + Water → Ornithine + Ureadetails
References
  1. Overington JP, Al-Lazikani B, Hopkins AL: How many drug targets are there? Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2006 Dec;5(12):993-6. [PubMed:17139284 ]
  2. Imming P, Sinning C, Meyer A: Drugs, their targets and the nature and number of drug targets. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2006 Oct;5(10):821-34. [PubMed:17016423 ]
  3. Berman HM, Westbrook J, Feng Z, Gilliland G, Bhat TN, Weissig H, Shindyalov IN, Bourne PE: The Protein Data Bank. Nucleic Acids Res. 2000 Jan 1;28(1):235-42. [PubMed:10592235 ]
General function:
Involved in arginase activity
Specific function:
May play a role in the regulation of extra-urea cycle arginine metabolism and also in down-regulation of nitric oxide synthesis. Extrahepatic arginase functions to regulate L-arginine bioavailability to NO synthase. Since NO synthase is found in the penile corpus cavernosum smooth muscle, the clitoral corpus cavernosum and the vagina, arginase II plays a role in both male and female sexual arousal. It is therefore a potential target for the treatment of male and female sexual arousal disorders.
Gene Name:
ARG2
Uniprot ID:
P78540
Molecular weight:
38577.515
Reactions
L-Arginine + Water → Ornithine + Ureadetails
General function:
Involved in carbonate dehydratase activity
Specific function:
Essential for bone resorption and osteoclast differentiation (By similarity). Reversible hydration of carbon dioxide. Can hydrate cyanamide to urea. Involved in the regulation of fluid secretion into the anterior chamber of the eye.
Gene Name:
CA2
Uniprot ID:
P00918
Molecular weight:
29245.895
References
  1. Overington JP, Al-Lazikani B, Hopkins AL: How many drug targets are there? Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2006 Dec;5(12):993-6. [PubMed:17139284 ]
  2. Imming P, Sinning C, Meyer A: Drugs, their targets and the nature and number of drug targets. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2006 Oct;5(10):821-34. [PubMed:17016423 ]
General function:
Involved in binding
Specific function:
Involved in signal transduction through the Wnt pathway. Nuclear beta-catenin it involved in transcriptional regulation by association with transcription factors of the TCF/LEF family
Gene Name:
CTNNB1
Uniprot ID:
P35222
Molecular weight:
85495.9
References
  1. Overington JP, Al-Lazikani B, Hopkins AL: How many drug targets are there? Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2006 Dec;5(12):993-6. [PubMed:17139284 ]
  2. Imming P, Sinning C, Meyer A: Drugs, their targets and the nature and number of drug targets. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2006 Oct;5(10):821-34. [PubMed:17016423 ]
  3. Berman HM, Westbrook J, Feng Z, Gilliland G, Bhat TN, Weissig H, Shindyalov IN, Bourne PE: The Protein Data Bank. Nucleic Acids Res. 2000 Jan 1;28(1):235-42. [PubMed:10592235 ]
General function:
Involved in agmatinase activity
Specific function:
Not Available
Gene Name:
AGMAT
Uniprot ID:
Q9BSE5
Molecular weight:
37660.065
Reactions
Agmatine + Water → Putrescine + Ureadetails
General function:
Involved in G-protein coupled receptor activity
Specific function:
Receptor that is activated by both amino acids and extracellular concentration of calcium ions. The activity of this receptor is mediated by a G-protein that activates a phosphatidylinositol-calcium second messenger system. Senses changes in the extracellular concentration of calcium ions, suggesting that it may mediate extracellular calcium-sensing responses in osteoblasts. Osteocalin, stimulates its activity in presence of calcium. Has a lower affinity for calcium than CASR. Also acts as a receptor for amino acids, with a preference for basic amino acids such as L-Lys, L-Arg and L-ornithine. Its affinity for amino acids suggests that it may act as a regulatory component of the urea cycle
Gene Name:
GPRC6A
Uniprot ID:
Q5T6X5
Molecular weight:
104752.2
General function:
Involved in allantoicase activity
Specific function:
The function of this enzyme is unclear as allantoicase activity is not known to exist in mammals.
Gene Name:
ALLC
Uniprot ID:
Q8N6M5
Molecular weight:
43558.25
Reactions
Allantoic acid + Water → (S)-Ureidoglycolic acid + Ureadetails
General function:
Involved in nucleic acid binding
Specific function:
Retroviral proteases have roles in processing of the primary translation products and the maturation of the viral particle. Endogenous Pro proteins may have kept, lost or modified their original function during evolution. This endogenous protein has retained most of the characteristics of retroviral proteases
Gene Name:
Not Available
Uniprot ID:
P10265
Molecular weight:
17107.6
General function:
Involved in urea transmembrane transporter activity
Specific function:
Not Available
Gene Name:
JK
Uniprot ID:
Q8WXW8
Molecular weight:
3988.6
General function:
Involved in urea transmembrane transporter activity
Specific function:
Not Available
Gene Name:
HUT11
Uniprot ID:
Q71UV7
Molecular weight:
5627.5

Transporters

General function:
Involved in urea transmembrane transporter activity
Specific function:
Specialized low-affinity vasopressin-regulated urea transporter. Mediates rapid transepithelial urea transport across the inner medullary collecting duct and plays a major role in the urinary concentrating mechanism.
Gene Name:
SLC14A2
Uniprot ID:
Q15849
Molecular weight:
101207.965
References
  1. Wall SM, Han JS, Chou CL, Knepper MA: Kinetics of urea and water permeability activation by vasopressin in rat terminal IMCD. Am J Physiol. 1992 Jun;262(6 Pt 2):F989-98. [PubMed:1320335 ]
General function:
Involved in urea transmembrane transporter activity
Specific function:
Specialized low-affinity urea transporter. Mediates urea transport in erythrocytes.
Gene Name:
SLC14A1
Uniprot ID:
Q13336
Molecular weight:
48341.29
References
  1. Ripoche P, Rousselet G: [Urea transporters]. Nephrologie. 1996;17(7):383-8. [PubMed:9019665 ]
  2. Olives B, Mattei MG, Huet M, Neau P, Martial S, Cartron JP, Bailly P: Kidd blood group and urea transport function of human erythrocytes are carried by the same protein. J Biol Chem. 1995 Jun 30;270(26):15607-10. [PubMed:7797558 ]

Only showing the first 10 proteins. There are 12 proteins in total.