L-Histidine is an
essential amino acid with unique biochemical and physiological properties.
Histidinemia is a disease condition caused by the elevated level of
L-histidine in our blood. Mutations in the
histidase, an
enzyme for the breakdown of
histidine, is the cause of the rise in
histidine concentration. To our knowledge, no research has been done on why a high concentration of
histidine causes
histidinemia. In this study, we provide a potential explanation why the elevated levels of
histidine in the human body causes
histidinemia. In this study we have found that
L-histidine self-assembled in water to form nano sheet structures at physiological pH and temperature, using 1D 1H NMR spectroscopy, diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques. The kinetics of self-assembly has been studied using real time NMR spectroscopy. We observed that both the aromatic ring and aliphatic part are equally contributing to the self-assembly of
L-histidine. The symptoms of
histidinemia, neurological deficits and
speech delays, are similar to that of the
neurodegenerative diseases caused by the self-assembly of
peptides and
proteins. We speculate that the self-assembly of
L-histidine might be the cause of
histidinemia.