Cytidine triphosphate synthetase reaction

Some of the reactions of PO3- parallel enzymatic reactions promoted by adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Pyruvate kinase catalyzes the equilibration of ATP and pyruvate with adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and phosphoenol pyruvate (11,12). In a formal sense, this reaction resembles the preparations of enol phosphate (eqs. 6 and 7). Cytidine triphosphate synthetase catalyzes the reaction of uridine triphosphate with ammonia to yield cytidine triphosphate (13). In a formal sense, this reaction resembles the replacement of the ester carbonyl group of ethyl acetate by the nitrogen of aniline (eq. 8). 

Figure 20.9 The positions in the pathway for de novo pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis where GLUCOSE provides the ribose molecule and GLUTAMINE provides nitrogen atoms. Glucose forms ribose 5-phosphate, via the pentose phosphate pathway (see chapter 6), which enters the pathway, after phosphorylation, as 5-phospho-ribosyl 1-pyrophosphate. Glutamine provides the nitrogen atom to synthesise carbamoylphos-phate (with formation of glutamate), and also to form cytidine triphosphate (CTP) from uridine triphosphate (UTP), catalysed by the enzyme CTP synthetase. It is the amide nitrogen of glutamine that is the nitrogen atom that is provided in these reactions.

Cytidine triphosphate (CTP) is produced by amination of UTP by CTP synthetase (Figure 22.22). [Note The nitrogen is provided by glutamine—another example of a reaction in nucleotide biosynthesis in which this amino acid is required.]... 

UMP is phosphorylated by two kinases to uridine triphosphate (UTP) via two sequential reactions with ATP. First, the diphosphate form UDP is produced, and further phosphorylation leads to UTP. Both steps are fueled by ATP hydrolysis. CTP (cytidine triphosphate) is subsequently formed by the amination of UTP by the catalytic activity of CTP synthetase. Glutamine is the NH3 donor, and also in this case the reaction is fueled by ATP hydrolysis. Cytidine monophosphate (CMP) is derived from CTP with subsequent loss of two phosphates. 

CMP-KDO synthetase (cytidine-5 -triphosphate cytidine-5 -mon-ophosphate-3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonate cytidylyltransferase), the next enzyme in the pathway, catalyzes the formation of the nucleotide sugar, CMP-KDO from CTP and KDO. This enzyme was first studied by Ghalambor and Heath (IT). We have purified this enzyme to homogeneity (27). T i apparent K values for CTP nd KDO in the presence of 10 mM Mg were determined to be 2 x 10 M and 2.9 x 10 M, respectively. The enzy tic reaction was dependent upon the addition of CTP, KDO and Mg but did not require a reducing agent. The formation of CMP-KDO was not inhibited by the addition of CDP, CMP, KDO-8-phosphate or N-acetylneuraminic acid to the complete reaction mixture. In agreement with Ghalambor and Health (17), neither KDO-8-phosphate nor N-acetylneuraminic acid could substitute for KDO in the reaction mixture. Pyrophosphate, one of the end products, is a weak inhibitor of the reaction with an apparent Ijq value of 5.0 mM. The addition of CMP,CD or any of the other mono- or di-nucleotides did not inhibit the reaction. 

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