Transcript File
10-24-11: Nitrogen metabolism Part B
Nucleotide metabolism
Selected biomolecules derived from aa’s
Nucleotides - general nomenclature
Purines
Adenine
Nucleoside
Nucleotide monophosphate
Nucleotide diphosphate
Nucleotide triphosphate
Guanine
Pyrimidines
Cytosine Uracil Thymine
Nucleotides are generated by salvage of
preexisting bases or de novo by assembly
from simpler compounds
Pyrimidine biosynthesis
From glutamine
In the de novo synthesis of
pyrimidines the ring is
synthesized first and
then attached to PRPP
Formation of carbamoyl phosphate is catalyzed by
carbamoyl phosphate synthetase
Bicarbonate is phosphorylated to form carboxyphosphate, an
activated form of CO2
Glutamine is hydrolyzed by carbomyl phosphate synthetase
to yield ammonia which reacts with carboxyphosphate
to form carbamic acid
Carbamic acid is then phosphorylated to form carbamoyl
phosphate
Formation of orotate
Carbamoyl phosphate reacts with the amino acid aspartate to
form carbamoylaspartate. ACTase regulates pyrimidine
biosynthesis
Carbamoylaspartate then cyclizes to form dihydroorotate
which is oxidized to orotate by NAD+
PRPP (phosphoribosylpyrophosphate) is
formed from ribose 5-phosphate and ATP
Orotate couples to PRPP in a reaction
driven by the hydrolysis of PPi
Orotidylate is then decarboxylated
to form uridine monophosphate
(UMP)
Nucleoside monophosphates are
converted nucleoside
triphosphates by kinases
UTP can be converted into cytidine triphosphate (CTP) by
replacement of a carbonyl group by an amino group
from glutamine
ATCase is activated by ATP and inhibited by CTP, the final
product of pyrimidine synthesis
Purine biosynthesis
The purine ring is assembled on
ribose phosphate
The initial committed step in purine synthesis
is displacement of pyrophosphate on
PRPP by NH3 rather than a premade base
as in pyrimidine synthesis
Catalyzed by glutamine phosphoribosyl amidotransferase
Glycine is coupled to the amino group of
phosphoribosylamine
N10-Formyl-THF transfers a formyl group to the amino group
of the glycine residue
The inner amide group is phosphorylated and then converted
to an amidine by the addition of NH3 from glutamine
An intramolecular coupling reaction forms a five-membered
imidazole ring
Bicarbonate adds first to the exocyclic amino group and then
to a carbon atom of the imidazole ring
The imidazole carboxylate is phosphorylated and the
phosphoryl group is displaced by the amino group of
aspartate
Fumarate leaves followed by the
addition of a second formyl
group from N10-formyl-THF
Cyclization completes the synthesis of inosinate, a purine
nucleotide
AMP and GMP are formed from IMP
Bases are recycled by salvage pathways
Adenine + PRPP adenylate + PPi
adenine phosphoribosyltransferase
Guanine + PRPP guanylate + PPi
Hypoxanthine + PRPP inosate + PPi
hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase
(HGPRT)
Ribonucleotide reductase converts
ribonucleotides to deoxyribonucleotides
Thymidylate is formed by methylation of dUMP
Tetrahydrofolate is regenerated by dihydrofolate reductase
Several anticancer drugs block synthesis
of thymidylate
Rapidly dividing cells require thymidylate for DNA synthesis
Thymidylate synthase is inhibited by fluorouracil, which is
converted in vivo to fluorodeoxyuridylate, an analog of
dUMP which as a substrate of TMP synthase
irreversibly inhibits the enzyme
Inhibition of regeneration of tetrahydrofolate blocks TMP
synthesis
DHF analogs aminopterin and methotrexate are potent
competitive inhibiters of dihydrofolate reductase
Methotrexate causes weakening of the immune system;
nausea and hair loss are toxic side effects. Why?
Trimethoprim, a folate analog, is a potent
antibacterial and antiprotozoal
Trimethoprim binds mammalian dihydrofolate reductase
10,000 less tightly than it does the reductases of
susceptible microorganisms
Pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis is
regulated by feedback inhibition
Coupling of inhibition by a pyrimidine nucleotide with
stimulation by a purine nucleotide helps balance
the two nucleotide pools
Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase is also regulated by
feedback inhibition
Purine nucleotide biosynthesis is regulated by
feedback inhibition at several sites
Ribonucleotide reductase is allosterically
regulated at two sites
Nucleotide Degradation
In most living organisms, purines and pyrimidines are
constantly being degraded and/or recycled
During digestion nucleases (DNases and RNases) hydrolyze
nucleic acids to oligonucleotides of <50 bp
Oligonucleotides are further degraded to free bases and
ribose or deoxyribose
Purine catabolism
Generally, dietary purines and pyrimidines are
not used in significant amounts to
synthesize cellular nucleic acids
Purines are degraded within enterocytes to uric acid in
humans and birds
Pyrimidines are degraded within enterocytes to b-alanine or
b-aminoisobutyric acid, as well as NH3 and CO2
Diseases result from defects in purine
catabolic pathways
Adenosine deaminase deficiency results in the depression of
DNA synthesis caused by rising dATP levels that
inhibit ribonucleotide reductase
Causes immunodeficiency due to its effect on T and B
lymphocytes; associated with SCID - Severe Combined
ImmunoDeficiency
SCID is treated by bone marrow transplantation; Adenosine
deaminase deficiency was the first disease treated by
gene therapy
Gout results from high blood levels of uric acid and recurrent attacks of
arthritis
Uric acid loses a proton to form urate, which is normally excreted in the urine
High serum levels of urate (hyperuricemia) cause sodium salts of urate to
crystallize and accumulate in joints and kidneys causing inflammation and
tissue damage
Allopurinol, an analog of hypoxanthine, is used to treat gout
Allopurinol is a substrate of xanthine oxidase, which convert it to the suicide
inhibtor alloxanthine
inhibition of xanthine oxidase causes more soluble xanthine and hypoxanthine
to be excreted
Crystal deposition & the development of gout
Adenine
deaminase
Adenine
Xanthine
oxidase
Hypoxanthine
Guanine
deaminase
Xanthine
Guanine
Xanthine
oxidase
pKa = 5.75
Uric acid
Urate
Lesch-Nyhan syndrome is a consequence of a
faulty HGPRT gene
Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HGPRT)
is essential for salvage of guanylate and inosinate
Lesch-Nyhan patients have elevated serum urate levels,
develop kidney stones and gout
Virtual absence of HGPRT causes elevated PRPP levels that
drives purine synthesis and the overproduction of
urate as unused purines are degraded
Neurological signs include self-mutilation, social aggression,
mental deficiency and spasticity
The biochemical basis for the disease remains uncertain
During muscle contratction ATP is converted to
ADP. ATP concentrations drop. Adenylate
kinase converts 2 ADP to ATP and AMP by
moving phosphate groups around
Why is the is reaction beneficial?
Beneficial
because it rapidly creates ATP with
whatever high E phosphate bonds are around