Adenine catabolism

Nicotinamide is an essential part of two important coenzymes nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD ) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP ) (Figure 18.19). The reduced forms of these coenzymes are NADH and NADPH. The nieotinamide eoenzymes (also known as pyridine nucleotides) are electron carriers. They play vital roles in a variety of enzyme-catalyzed oxidation-reduction reactions. (NAD is an electron acceptor in oxidative (catabolic) pathways and NADPH is an electron donor in reductive (biosynthetic) pathways.) These reactions involve direct transfer of hydride anion either to NAD(P) or from NAD(P)H. The enzymes that facilitate such... 

Endogenous NO is produced almost exclusively by L-arginine catabolism to L-citrul-line in a reaction catalyzed by a family of nitric oxide synthases (NOSs) [3]. In the first step, Arg is hydroxylated to an enzyme-bound intermediate "-hydroxy-1.-arginine (NHA), and 1 mol of NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, reduced form) and O2 are consumed. In the second step, N H A is oxidized to citrulline and NO, with consumption of 0.5 mol of NADPH and 1 mol of 02 (Scheme 1.1). Oxygen activation in both steps is carried out by the enzyme-bound heme, which derives electrons from NADPH. Mammalian NOS consists of an N-terminal oxy-... 

Two important implications of the reactions described in Equations (5.1) and (5.2) are (i) that redox reactions play an important role in metabolic transformations, with the cofactors nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) acting as electron acceptor in catabolic pathways and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) as electron donor in anabolism, and (ii) that energy must be produced by catabolism and used in biosyntheses (almost always in the form of adenosine triphosphate, ATP). 

The flavin-based coenzymes flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and flavin mononucleotide (FMN) are associated with a wide variety of enzymes that catalyze reactions in critical biosynthetic and catabolic processes (Fig. 16). Unlike other coenzymes, the reactions catalyzed do not conserve specific mechanistic pathways. In each case the apoenzyme serves to steer the course of the reaction through specific interactions with substrate and coenzyme [55]. Nonetheless, there are common features of the interactions of the apoenzymes with the flavin which can be exploited in the design of functional peptides and proteins. 

The nicotinamide coenzymes nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) are associated with a wide variety of enzymes involved in oxidation-reduction reactions (Fig. 21). NADH is typically involved in oxidative catabolic reactions, while NADPH is primarily used in biosynthetic pathways [58]. 

Azaguanine and thioguanine are catabolized by guanase, and both the purinethiones are degraded by xanthine oxidase. Methylation and demethylation is an important factor in the activity of the thiopurihes and certain adenine or adenosine analogues also. 

Cytidylate reductase, the enzyme that reduces cytidine diphosphate to 2-deoxycytidine diphosphate is inhibited not only by 1- -D-arabinofuranosyl-cytosine, but also by 9 -D-arabinofuranosyladenine [330] and 9-/3-D-arabino-furanosylpurine-6( 1 H)-thione (LXXV) [331-333]. 9-Butylthioguanine (LXXVl), which is catabolized to unidentified excretion products but which is not debutylated, blocks the incorporation of adenine into DNA, but the exact mechanism of this action is unknown [334]. 

Purine bases from ingested foods, or formed by catabolism of nucleic acids, are able to react with PRPP under the influence of phosphoribosyltransferases.3063 Two such enzymes are known to act on purines. One converts adenine to AMP (Fig. 25-17, step b) and also acts upon 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide. This enzyme may be especially important to parasitic protozoa such as Leishmania, which lack the de novo pathway of purine synthesis (Fig. 25-15).278/306b... 

As indicated in Fig. 25-18, free adenine released from catabolism of nucleic acids can be deaminated hydrolytically to hypoxanthine, and guanine can be deaminated to xanthine.328 The molybdenum-containing xanthine oxidase (Chapter 16) oxidizes hypoxanthine to xanthine and the latter on to uric acid. Some Clostridia convert purine or hypoxanthine to xanthine by the action of a selenium-containing purine hydroxylase.3283 Another reaction of xanthine occurring in some plants is conversion to the trimethylated derivative caffeine. 328b One of the physiological effects of caffeine in animals is inhibition of pyrimidine synthesis.329 However, the effect most sought by coffee drinkers may be an increase in blood pressure caused by occupancy of adenosine receptors by caffeine.330... 

In die physiological system, niacin and related substances maintain nicotinamide adenine diiuicleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide adenine ciinucleotide phosphate (NADP). Niacin also acts as a hydrogen and electron transfer agent in carbohydrate metabolism and furnishes coenzymes for dehydrogenase systems. A niacin coenzyme participates in lipid catabolism, oxidative deamination, and photo synthesis,... 

Adenine phosphoribosyltransferase catalyzes the conversion of adenine to AMP in many tissues, by a reaction similar to that of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, but is quite distinct from the latter. It plays a minor role in purine salvage since adenine is not a significant product of purine nucleotide catabolism (see below). The function of this enzyme seems to be to scavenge small amounts of adenine that are produced during intestinal digestion of nucleic acids or in the metabolism of 5 -deoxy-5 -methylthioadenosine, a product of polyamine synthesis. 

In contrast to plant cells, which normally get their cellular energy from photosynthesis, animal cells need a carbohydrate source, usually glucose, and the amino acid glutamine. The catabolism of these substrates allows the production of two coenzymes (ATP and NADH - nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), which are essential for maintaining the viability of the cells. These coenzymes can be used for the maintenance, metabolism and/or for the synthesis of particular desired products (Wagner, 1997). 

Answer Within organelles, reaction intermediates and enzymes can be maintained at different levels from those in the cytosol and in other organelles. For example, the ATP/ADP ratio is lower in mitochondria than in the cytosol because the role of adenine nucleotides in the mitochondrial matrix is to accept a phosphoryl group, whereas the role in the cytosol is to donate a phosphoryl group. Similarly, different NADH/NAD+ and NADPH/NADP+ ratios reflect the reductive (biosynthetic) functions of the cytosol and the oxidative (catabolic) functions of the mitochondrial matrix. By segregating reaction sequences that share intermediates, the cell can regulate catabolic and anabolic processes separately. 

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide is a coenzyme which is only loosely bound to the active site of the enzymes with which it interacts and is free therefore, to dissociate from the enzyme during the catalytic cycle. The role of the dehydrogenase enzyme is to bring together the substrate and the NAD+ in the correct orientation for the two to react. These NAD+-dependent enzymes are known as dehydrogenases. They work in conjunction with NAD+ to oxidise substrates by the transfer of 1H+ and 2e from the substrate to the 4-position of the nicotinamide ring of the NAD+ (see Fig. 2.1). The overall reaction is the equivalent of a hydride transfer and is commonly referred to as such. NAD+-dependent enzymes are primarily involved in respiration (NAD+ occurs in significant amounts in mitochondria), whereas, NADP+-dependent coenzymes are primarily involved in the transfer of electrons from intermediates in catabolism. 

Amino acid oxidase and Oamino acid oxidase are oxygen-requiring enzymes that catalyze the conversion of amino acids to the corresponding keto acids and ar ammonium ion. The oxygen cosubstrate is converted to hydrogen peroxide. Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) is required as a cofactor. Both enzymes are of minor importance in amino acid catabolism. Note that all of the amino acids described in this text are L-amino acids. D-Amino acids are minor components of... 

Dietary purines are largely catabolized in the gut, rather than used by the body for the synthesis of nucleic acids. The end-product of purine catabolism in humans is uric add. The diet accounts f[ir less than half of the uric add appearing in the bloodstream, Most of the plasma uric add, or urate, originates from catabolism of the purines synthesized by the body (endogenous purines). The major purines are adenine and guanine. They occur mainly as nucleotides, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and guanosine triphosphate (GTP), and as parts of nucleic acids. For example, the adenine in (UvfA occurs as adenosine monophosphate, and the adenine in DNA occurs as deoxyadenosine monophosphate. 

Most of the free purines derived from the breakdown of DNA, RNA, and nucleotides in the diet are catabolized to xanthine and then to uric acid in the gut mucosa. The AMP and GMP biosynthesized in the body can also be bmken down to free purines, such as adenine, guanine, and hypoxanthine. These purines, in contrast to those derived frcim the diet, are largely reused for the synthesis of ATP and GTP- They are first converted back to AMP or GMP in a pathway of reutiliza-lion called the purine salvage pathway. For example, adenine phosphoribosyl-transferase (PRPP) catalyzes the conversion of adenine to AMP. Here, PRPP serves as the source of the phosphoribose group. Pyrophosphate is a product of the reaction. 

NAD+ Oxidized form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Note that despite the plus sign in the symbol, the coenzyme is anionic under normal physiological conditions. NAD+ is a coenzyme derived from the B vitamin niacin. It is transformed into NADH when it accepts a pair of high-energy electrons for transport in cells and is associated with catabolic and energy-yielding reactions. 

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