Beta hydroxy acid dehydrogenases catalyze the NAD(+)-linked dehydrogenation of L-gulonate into dehydro-L-gulonate in the uronate cycle. The uronate cycle, an alternative glucose metabolic pathway that is linked to the pentose phosphate cycle via nonphosphorylated sugar metabolites, plays essential roles in glucuronide formation and the synthesis of glycosaminoglycan and ascorbic acid. (Adapted from PMID: 15809331.)
