DNA pyrimidines

B.M. Sutherland used in vitro experiments with human neonatal foreskin fibroblasts in buffer solution to show that DNA-pyrimidine dimer formation under a sunlamp was sensitized by p-aminobenzoic acid. Cells illuminated in the presence of the acid had a 10-fold higher frequency of transformation to anchorage-independant growth than cells irradiated in buffer alone [41]. 

The potential triple A D D D A A interaction between cytosine and bis(amidino-0-methylurea)ethane, when co-ordinated to copper(II), is shown in Scheme 12 (l.h.s.). Alternative complementary interactions between amidino-O-alkylureas and DNA pyrimidine bases include the double D A A-D interaction with thymine shown in Scheme 12 (r.h.s.). 

Oxidation of DNA, pyrimidines, and purines Inhibition of polysaccharide synthesis Oxidation of indoleacetic acid Inhibition of cellulose synthetase, phospho-glucomutase, UDPG pyrophosphorylase... 

As a second example of intersystem crossing mechanism in biochromophores we include here the case of the DNA pyrimidine nucleobases, starting by the uracil molecule [91]. In previous sections we presented a model for the rapid internal conversion of the singlet excited rationalizes the ultrafast decay component observed in these systems, both in the gas phase and in solution. Despite the short lifetimes associated to this state, which is the main contributor to the photophysics of the system, formation of photodimers PyroPyr has been observed for the monomers in solution, as well as in solid state, for oligonucleotides, and DNA [92], Since the sixties, the determination of the mechanism of the photoinduced formation of cyclobutane dimers has been the subject of numerous studies [92, 93-97], One of the most classic models that has been proposed for the photodimerization of Pyr nucleobases in solution invokes photoexcitation of a molecule to a singlet state followed by population of a triplet state by an intersystem crossing mechanism... 

Cryptochromes in the human eye have a considerable sequence and structure homology with the photolyases, binding both methylene tetrahydrofolate and FAD. They have the same DNA binding pocket as photolyase, although they do not catalyze the reduction of DNA pyrimidine dimers. They are found in the nucleus of cells of the inner layer of the retina, behind the rods and cones involved in vision (Section 2.3.1), and absorb blue light, with maximum absorbance at 420 nm. 

Fluorouracil is a lluorinated pyrimidine, which is converted intraceUularly to the active form, fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate, which inhibits thymidylate synthetase and hence reduces the production of thymidylic acid, the deox)Tibonucleotide of thymine (5-methyluracil), a DNA pyrimidine base, blocking DNA synthesis. In addition, intracellular conversion to 5-fluorouridine monophosphate results in incorporation of the activated antimetaboUte into RNA and consequent RNA dysfunction. 

Since Hammarsten s results showed that not only the pyrimidines of PNA but also those of DNA were labeled after administration of labeled cytidine, it was concluded that this was indirect evidence for the conversion of a pyrimidine riboside to a pyrimidine desoxyriboside. The reason for this was that cytidine could not have been split to cytosine and then reincorporated into desoxycytidine, since it had been shown earlier that the free base, cytosine, could not be utilized for the synthesis of nucleic acid pyrimidines. The possibility should not be overlooked, however, that the above conversion may possibly occur at the nucleotide level thus, cytidylic acid, in which the phosphate is attached to the nucleoside, may be the intermediate in the transformation of PNA to DNA pyrimidines. 

When N -orotic acid was injected into rats, the compound was utilized for the synthesis of PNA as well as DNA pyrimidines. C -labeled orotic acid has also been investigated and found to be incorporated into the pyrimidines of rat liver and yeast. The two possible pathways of orotic acid utilization are shown in Fig. 12. 

Using doubly-labeled cytidine-C, it was demonstrated that the ribose and pyrimidine moieties were incorporated to the same extent into the pyrimidine and carbohydrate moieties of both RNA and DNA pyrimidine nucleosides. This established that the postulated intact incorporation of the labeled nucleosides had taken place, at least with cytidine (331). Other studies with several doubly-labeled nucleosides, cytidine, uridine, deoxycytidine, and thymine, also indicated a relatively direct conversion of a ribonucleoside to a deoxyribonucleoside. (333). The latter studies also... 

Nucleic acids are acidic substances present m the nuclei of cells and were known long before anyone suspected they were the primary substances involved m the storage transmission and processing of genetic information There are two kinds of nucleic acids ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) Both are complicated biopolymers based on three structural units a carbohydrate a phosphate ester linkage between carbohydrates and a heterocyclic aromatic compound The heterocyclic aro matic compounds are referred to as purine and pyrimidine bases We 11 begin with them and follow the structural thread... 

These relationships are general Hydroxyl substituted purines and pyrimidines exist in their keto forms ammo substituted ones retain structures with an ammo group on the ring The pyrimidine and punne bases m DNA and RNA listed m Table 28 1 follow this general rule Beginning m Section 28 7 we 11 see how critical it is that we know the cor rect tautomeric forms of the nucleic acid bases... 

The most important derivatives of pyrimidines and purines are nucleosides Nucleosides are N glycosides m which a pyrimidine or purine nitrogen is bonded to the anomeric carbon of a carbohydrate The nucleosides listed m Table 28 2 are the mam building blocks of nucleic acids In RNA the carbohydrate component is d ribofuranose m DNA It IS 2 deoxy d ribofuranose... 

Avery s paper prompted other biochemists to rethink their ideas about DNA One of them Erwin Chargaff of Columbia University soon discovered that the distribution of adenine thymine cytosine and guanine differed from species to species but was the same within a species and within all the cells of a species Perhaps DNA did have the capacity to carry genetic information after all Chargaff also found that regardless of the source of the DNA half the bases were purines and the other half were pyrimidines Significantly the ratio of the purine adenine (A) to the pyrimidine thymine (T) was always close to 1 1 Likewise the ratio of the purine guanine (G) to the pyrimidine cyto sine (C) was also close to 1 1 For human DNA the values are... 

Each pair contains one purine and one pyrimidine base This makes the A T and G C pairs approximately the same size and ensures a consistent distance between the two DNA strands... 

FIGURE 28 5 (a) Tube and (b) space filling models of a DNA double helix The carbohydrate-phosphate backbone is on the out side and can be roughly traced in (b) by the red oxygen atoms The blue atoms belong to the purine and pyrimidine bases and he on the inside The base pairing is more clearly seen in (a)... 

Section 28 8 The most common form of DNA is B DNA which exists as a right handed double helix The carbohydrate-phosphate backbone lies on the outside the punne and pyrimidine bases on the inside The double helix IS stabilized by complementary hydrogen bonding (base pairing) between adenine (A) and thymine (T) and guanine (G) and cytosine (C)... 

The primary stmcture of DNA is based on repeating nucleotide units, where each nucleotide is made up of the sugar, ie, 2 -deoxyribose, a phosphate, and a heterocycHc base, N. The most common DNA bases are the purines, adenine (A) and guanine (G), and the pyrimidines, thymine (T) and cytosine (C) (Fig. 1). The base, N, is bound at the I -position of the ribose unit through a heterocycHc nitrogen. 

Proteias are metabolized coatiauously by all living organisms, and are ia dyaamic equilibrium ia living cells (6,12). The role of amino acids ia proteia biosyathesis has beea described (2). Most of the amino acids absorbed through the digestioa of proteias are used to replace body proteias. The remaining portioa is metabolized iato various bioactive substances such as hormones and purine and pyrimidine nucleotides, (the precursors of DNA and RNA) or is consumed as an energy source (6,13). 

Basically, AZT is anabohcaHy phosphorylated to AZT mono-, di-, and tri-phosphates by various enzymes (kinases) of a target ceU (159). AZT-triphosphate competes with other phosphorylated pyrimidine nucleosides for incorporation into HIV DNA by the viral reverse transcriptase. Incorporation of the AZT-triphosphate into reverse transcriptase results in viral DNA chain termination. Reverse transcriptase is essential in the repHcative cycle of HIV. 

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