Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase Purine phosphoribosyltransferases

The free bases of the purines can be salvaged to spare de novo synthesis. The only hard thing is remembering what the names stand for. HGPRTase is hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, and it makes both IMP and GMP. A separate enzyme exists for the salvage of adenine. The salvage pathways are included in Fig. 19-1. 

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome A deficiency of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase results in accumulation of purine bases (Chapter 10). This causes a marked increase in the plasma level of uric acid, and hence can give rise to gout, but it also causes a severe neurological disorder, known as Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, the symptoms of which include... 

Table 7.1.4 Concentration range of purine and pyrimidine metabolites in urine (pmol/mmol creatinine) from patients. ADA Adenosine deaminase, APRT adenine phosphoribosyltransferase, ASA adenylosuccinate lyase, DHP dihydropyrimidinase, DPD dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase, HGPRT hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, PNP purine nucleoside phosphorylase, TP thymidine phosphorylase, UMPS uridine monophosphate synthase, / -UP fi-ureidopropionase... 

The activity of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, adenine phos-phoribosyltransferase, adenosine deaminase, and purine nucleoside phosphorylase can be determined in dried blood spots using an HPLC-linked assay [3]. 

A condition known as Lesch-Nyhan syndrome is one of the primary causes of gout. An X-linked recessive trait occurring in males, this condition involves a tremendous overproduction of uric acid due to a deficiency of one of the enzymes involved in purine metabolism, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT). Other abnormalites lead to mental retardation and aggressive behavior. An obvious symptom of the condition is self-mutilation. 

Purines that result from the normal turnover of cellular nucleic acids can be reconverted into nucleoside triphosphates and used by the body. Thus, they are "salvaged" instead of being degraded to uric acid. PRPP is the source of the ribose-phosphate, and the reactions are catalyzed by adenine phosphoribosyltransferase, and hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT). 

In mammals specific enzymes for converting purine bases to nucleotides are present in many organs, and in heart muscle this may be the main source of purine nucleotides. The most important of these enzymes is hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, which catalyzes the formation of IMP from hypoxanthine and GMP from guanine ... 

The role of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase in purine salvage has been confirmed by the abnormally high excretion of purines (as uric acid) in humans who lack hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase. Studies of purine metabolism in cultures of cells from patients with this hereditary disorder also support this conclusion. 

Besides this salvage role, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase is probably important also for the transfer of purines from liver to other tissues. Purine biosynthesis de novo is especially active in the liver, and extrahe-patic cells that have a low capacity for the synthesis of purines de novo, such as erythrocytes and bone marrow cells, depend on uptake of hypoxanthine and xanthine from the... 

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. 

Mechanism of overproduction of purine nucleotides in the congenital deficiency of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase. The loss of the transferase prevents the recycling of hypoxanthine and guanine. This increases uric acid production as well as the de novo synthesis of purine nucleotides. 

In some diseases, excessive amounts of purines are produced in the body, leading to accumulation of urate. Patients with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome lack the enzyme hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HG-PRTase). Children born with this disorder are mentally retarded and prone to self-mutilation. They produce excessive amounts of purines due to accumulation of P-Rib-PP which stimulates the first enzyme of the pathway, amido PRTase (Fig. 15-16). The excess purines are degraded via the reactions... 

Salvage pathway is a useful term to refer to that collection of biochemical reactions whose transformations result in the phosphorylation of purines. As a consequence of this phosphorylation, purines are not secreted by cells but, in fact, are returned to the cellular metabolic pool. One of these salvage enzymes is hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRTase),... 

Purines are degraded to urate in human beings. Gout, a disease that affects joints and leads to arthritis, is associated with the excessive accumulation of urate. The Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, a genetic disease characterized by self-mutilation, mental deficiency, and gout, is caused by the absence of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase. This enzyme is essential for the synthesis of purine nucleotides by the salvage pathway. 

HGPRT Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase the enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of inosine monophosphate (IMP) and guano-sine monophosphate (GMP) from hypoxanthine and guanine, respectively. It makes up part of the purine salvage pathway, a way of recycling purine bases back to the nucleotides. 

Answer C. The purine antimetabolite 6-mercaptopurine is bioactivated in cancer cells by the purine salvage enzyme hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT). The most common form of resistance to 6-MP is a decrease in activity of this enzyme. Azathioprine, a drug used as an immunosuppressant, is closely related to 6-MP and also requires bioactivation to exert cytotoxic actions. 

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome This is a severe form of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency, an enzyme involved in the metabolism of the purine bases (pp. 134-135)... 

E4. Emmerson, B. T., and Wyngaarden, J. B., Purine metabolism in heterozygous carriers of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency. Science 166, 1533-1535 (1969). 

Edwards, N.L., Recker, D., and Fox, I.H. Overproduction of uric acid in hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency Contribution by impaired purine salvage. J. Clin. Inves.,... 

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