Pyrimidines transaminations

In the case of l-dimethylaminobut-l-en-3-yne no 4-methylpyrimidine was isolated because its boiling point is close to that of a side product, dimethylfor-mamide. The latter results from transamination of formamide by dimethylamine in the course of cyclization. The pyrimidines 156 were isolated and characterized as picrates (70ZOR1528). For easier isolation of pure 4-methylpyiimidine... 

Unlike the end products of purine catabolism, those of pyrimidine catabolism are highly water-soluble COj, NH3, P-alanine, and P-aminoisobutyrate (Figure 34-9). Excretion of P-aminoisobutyrate increases in leukemia and severe x-ray radiation exposure due to increased destruction of DNA. However, many persons of Chinese or Japanese ancestry routinely excrete P-aminoisobutyrate. Humans probably transaminate P-aminoisobutyrate to methylmalonate semialdehyde, which then forms succinyl-CoA (Figure 19-2). 

The nitrogen from the pyrimidine bases is removed by transamination and dumped onto glutamate. The carbon skeleton ends up as C02. 

Figure 8.29 The initial reactions of glutamine metabolism in kidney, intestine and cells of the immune system. The initial reaction in all these tissues is the same, glutamine conversion to glutamate catalysed by glutaminase the next reactions are different depending on the function of the tissue or organ. In the kidney, glutamate dehydrogenase produces ammonia to buffer protons. In the intestine, the transamination produces alanine for release and then uptake and formation of glucose in the liver. In the immune cells, transamination produces aspartate which is essential for synthesis of pyrimidine nucleotides required for DNA synthesis otherwise it is released into the blood to be removed by the enterocytes in the small intestine or by cells in the liver.

Succinate —> malate oxaloacetate by the citric acid cycle. Oxaloacetate —> aspartate by transamination, followed by pyrimidine synthesis. Carbons 4, 5, and 6. 

In amidines transamination is possible,especially useful for such purposes are imidoylimid-azolides, e.g. (341 equation 172). In some cases it is usefiil to prepare amidines by ring opening of suitable heterocycles, which can be achieved by treatment with amines or other nucleophilic (basic) compounds. Examples are the synthesis of amidines firom 1,3,5-oxadiazinium salts (342), 3-amino-l,2-benzisothiazoles (343), 2-ethoxycarbonyl-3,l-benzoxazin-4(4//) one (344), 1,2,5-oxa-diazolo[3,4]pyrimidine 1-oxides (pyrimidofuroxans 345) and l,2,4,6-thiatriazenium-5-olate 1,1-dioxides (345) as shown in Scheme 58. 

Aspartate can be transaminated to form oxaloacetate, an intermediate of the citric-acid cycle. As with most transaminations, this is a reversible reaction, and aspartate can also be synthesized by a transamination reaction with glutamate and oxaloacetate to form aspartate and a-ketoglutarate. Therefore, aspartate is a nonessential amino acid. The aminotransferase with aspartate and a-ketoglutarate is particularly active in most tissues and occurs both in the mitochondria and the cytosol. The importance of this reaction is greater than simply forming the oxaloacetate or aspartate. Aspartate aminotransferase is an important reaction in the malate shuttle (see Chapter 11) wherein, reducing power can be transferred from the cytosol to the mitochondrion. Aspartate also plays a role in purine and pyrimidine synthesis and is particularly important in pyrimidine synthesis, where it donates both carbon and... 

Aspartate can be formed from oxaloacetate and glutamate, via transamination. This is important in urea synthesis, the malate shuttle, purine, and pyrimidine synthesis. 

Aspartate is involved in the control point of pyrimidine biosynthesis (Reaction 1 below), in transamination reactions (Reaction 2 below), interconversions with asparagine (reactions 3 and 4), in the metabolic pathway leading to AMP (reaction 5 below), in the urea cycle (reactions 2 and 8 below), IMP de novo biosynthesis, and is a precursor to homoserine, threonine, isoleucine, and methionine (reaction 7 below). It is also involved in the malate aspartate shuttle. 

See also Metabolic Nitrogen Balance, Transamination in Amino Acid Metabolism, Amino Acid Degradation, Urea Cycle, Ammonia Transport in the Body, De Novo Pyrimidine Nucleotide Metabolism (from Chapter 22). 

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