Nucleosides production from nucleic acid

The nucleoside formed from hypoxanthine and ribose is known as inosine (Ino or I) and the corresponding nucleotide as inosinic acid. Further substitution at C-2 of -H by -OH and tautomerization yields xanthine (Xan). Its nucleoside is xanthosine (Xao, X). A similar hydroxylation at C-7 converts xanthine to uric acid, an important human urinary excretion product derived from nucleic acid bases. 

When a nucleic acid base is N-glycosidically linked to ribose or 2-deoxyribose (see p.38), it yields a nucleoside. The nucleoside adenosine (abbreviation A) is formed in this way from adenine and ribose, for example. The corresponding derivatives of the other bases are called guanosine (G), uridine (U), thymidine (T) and cytidine (C). When the sugar component is 2-deoxyribose, the product is a deoxyribonucleoside—e. g., 2 -deoxyadeno-... 

Phosphorus is abundant on Earth, both as an element (the llth-most abundant atom in Earth s crust) and as phosphate. Meteorites hold a variety of phosphate-containing minerals and some phosphide minerals.10 Scientists at the University of Arizona have recently suggested that Fe3P, the mineral schreibersite, leads to the formation of phosphate and phosphite when corroded in water. Although phosphorylation of alcohols was not demonstrated, mechanistic considerations suggest that it should be possible. It is noteworthy that a clear prebiotic pathway for the chemical incorporation of phosphate into RNA or DNA has not been found. No nucleosides (nucleobases joined to sugars) have been reported from meteorites. Nor has evidence been found in any meteorite of the presence of nucleosides or nucleotides (nucleosides attached to phosphates). That suggests that nucleic acids were first formed as products of metabolism. 

In humans, uric acid (2,6,8-trihydroxypurine) is the major product of the catabolism of the purine nucleosides adenosine and guanosine (Figure 24-3), Purines from catabolism of dietary nucleic acid are converted to uric acid directly. The bulk of purines excreted as uric acid arise from degradation of endogenous nucleic acids. The daily synthesis rate of uric acid is approximately 400 mg dietary sources contribute... 

Occurrence In small amounts in muscles, liver, urinary calculi, beet juice, barley shoots, fly agarics, peanut kernels, potatoes, yeasts, coffee beans, tea leaves. X. is formed in the metabolism of higher animals by deamination of guanine (component of nucleic acid) or oxidation of hypoxanthine by xanthine oxidase present in muscles which then also oxidizes X. further to uric acid, the final product of the purine metabolism in humans. The nucleoside derived from X. is xanthosine. Although X. is chemically closely related to "caffein(e) and other methylxanthines, its activity is different. Stimulation of the central nervous system is less pronounced, the paralyzing effects dominate, and cardiac muscles are severely damaged. 

An increased production of uric acid can result from clinical conditions in which there is a rapid increase in the rate of degradation of purine nucleotides. This degradation occurs as a result of the turnover or breakdown of nucleic acids and soluble nucleotides in the cell often associated with breakdown of the cell itself. Examples of this would include the acute leukemias and hemolytic anemias (2). In addition, the degradation of purine nucleotides can occur as a result of alterations in the energy of the cell which enhance the breakdown of ATP. Examples of this might include starvation, muscular exertion, and hypoxia. In some of these latter conditions related to the catabolism of purine nucleoside triphosphates, there may also be compensatory increase in the rate or purine biosynthesis de novo related to the release of feedback inhibition at the level of PRPP synthetase and/or PRPP amidotransferase. 

In the case of DNA, a D-2-deoxyribose molecule is combined to each of the bases to form a nucleoside, and the nucleosides are then combined with each other with a phosphoric acid to form a polymer (DNA). On the other hand, in the case of RNA, D-ribose, instead of D-2-deoxyribose, is combined to each of the bases to form a nucleoside, and as in the case of DNA, these nucleosides are combined with each other to form a polymer (RNA). Among the bases within DNA and RNA, adenine and guanine have been described in the preceding section. In this section, cytosine, thymine, and uracil, which are pyrimidine bases, will be described. Purine derivatives exist as a constituent unit of nucleic acids and as many kinds of monomers, and these are also present in natural products, such as caffeine, inosinic acid, and cytokinin. On the other hand, as natural products, pyrimidine derivatives are rather rare. Nucleosides composed of pyrimidine bases cytosine, thymine, and uracil coupled with D-ribose are known as cytidine, thymidine, and uridine, respectively. Among these alkaloids, cytidine was first isolated from the nucleic acid of yeast [1,2], and thymidine was isolated from thymonucleic acid [3,4]. In the meantime, uridine was obtained by the weak alkali hydrolysis [5] of the nucleic acids originating from yeast. 

In a second procedure, poly(ADP-ribose) was first separated from the bulk of the nucleic acids and proteins by dihydroxyboryl-Sepharose affinity chromatography 147,190). The isolated polymer was treated with snake venom phosphodiesterase and bacterial alkaline phosphatase to yield the nucleoside 2, l"-ribosyladenosine from internal residues. This product was then treated with chloroacetaldehyde to produce the fluorescent derivative, l,iSr -ethenoribosyladenosine, which was then separated from other derivatized residues by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography picomole amounts were quantified by fluorescence detection. This procedure facilitates the accurate determination of minute quantities of endogenous poly(ADP-ribose) (102, 190). Niedergang et al. (147) have also utilized a fluorimetric assay for determination of the enzymatic digestion products of the polymer, ADP-ribose, or iso-ADP-ribose. 

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