Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.1.21 (thymidine kinase)
 7,561 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Nucleotide pool imbalances have been reported to affect the fidelity of DNA replication and repair in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. We have reported previously that the mutagen-hypersensitive thymidine kinase (TK)-deficient Friend erythroleukemia (FEL) cells (subclones 707BUF and 707BUE), have a more than sixfold increase in the dCTP:dTTP pool ratio when compared to that of wild-type, TK-positive (TK(+)) clone 707 cells. In this study we present the results of an investigation of the effect of the dCTP:dTTP pool imbalance on the accuracy of DNA replication within 707BUF cells. We examined the spontaneous mutation spectra occurring at the adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (aprt) locus within clone 707 (TK(+)) and 707BUF (TK(-)) FEL cells. Mutations recovered at the aprt locus in FEL cells comprised: base substitutions (43:73), frameshifts (14:13.5), and deletions (43:13.5) [clone 707 (TK(+)):707BUF (TK(-)), respectively, expressed as percentages]. A comparison of the mutation spectra obtained for the two cell lines did not reveal any significant increase in misincorporation of dCTP, the nucleotide in excess, in 707BUF (TK(-)) cells, during DNA replication synthesis. These data suggest that the dCTP:dTTP pool imbalance does not alter the fidelity of DNA replication synthesis in 707BUF (TK(-)) FEL cells. Rather, the predominance of GC --> AT transitions (53%) in the 707BUF (TK(-)) spectrum may reflect a reduced efficiency of repair by uracil DNA glycosylase of uracil residues within these cells.
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PMID:Effect of a dCTP:dTTP pool imbalance on DNA replication fidelity in Friend murine erythroleukemia cells. 1101 6

Nucleotide metabolic pathways provide numerous successful targets for antiparasitic chemotherapy, but the human pathogen Cryptosporidium parvum thus far has proved extraordinarily refractory to classical treatments. Given the importance of this protist as an opportunistic pathogen afflicting immunosuppressed individuals, effective treatments are urgently needed. The genome sequence of C. parvum is approaching completion, and we have used this resource to critically assess nucleotide biosynthesis as a target in C. parvum. Genomic analysis indicates that this parasite is entirely dependent on salvage from the host for its purines and pyrimidines. Metabolic pathway reconstruction and experimental validation in the laboratory further suggest that the loss of pyrimidine de novo synthesis is compensated for by possession of three salvage enzymes. Two of these, uridine kinase-uracil phosphoribosyltransferase and thymidine kinase, are unique to C. parvum within the phylum Apicomplexa. Phylogenetic analysis suggests horizontal gene transfer of thymidine kinase from a proteobacterium. We further show that the purine metabolism in C. parvum follows a highly streamlined pathway. Salvage of adenosine provides C. parvum's sole source of purines. This renders the parasite susceptible to inhibition of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the multistep conversion of AMP to GMP. The inosine 5' monophosphate dehydrogenase inhibitors ribavirin and mycophenolic acid, which are already in clinical use, show pronounced anticryptosporidial activity. Taken together, these data help to explain why widely used drugs fail in the treatment of cryptosporidiosis and suggest more promising targets.
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PMID:Gene transfer in the evolution of parasite nucleotide biosynthesis. 1497 96

Extracts of wheat (Triticum vulgare Vill. [Triticum aestivum L.] var. Lemhi) seedlings contain thymidine-phosphorylating activity with ATP, ADP, or AMP and nucleotide hydrolase activity (ATP --> --> AMP). The synthesis of [(32)P]dTMP exclusively from [alpha-(32)P]ATP with none detectable from [gamma-(32)P]ATP demonstrates the absence of thymidine kinase and the presence of nucleoside phosphotransferase as the only observable thymidine-phosphorylating enzyme.
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PMID:Thymidine phosphorylation in wheat: analysis of phosphate transfer from ATP to thymidine. 1666 Jun 42


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