Open AccessStimulation of uracil nucleotide synthesis in mouse liver, intestine and kidney by ammonium chloride infusion
Author(s) -
ZAHAREVITZ Daniel W.,
NAPIER Elizabeth A.,
ANDERSON Lawrence W.,
STRONG John M.,
CYSYK Richard L.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
european journal of biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1432-1033
pISSN - 0014-2956
DOI - 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1988.tb14183.x
Subject(s) - uracil , nucleotide , uridine , pyrimidine , small intestine , kidney , biochemistry , chemistry , biology , endocrinology , dna , rna , gene
De novo pyrimidine synthesis was studied in mouse liver, intestine, and kidney by intraperitoneal infusion of 15 NH 4 C1 and analysis of 15 N incorporation into uracil nucleotide pools. When the dose of a 1‐h infusion of 15 NH 4 C1 was increased from 50 μmol to 250 μmol the fraction of the total uracil nucleotide pool formed by de novo synthesis increased 4.0‐fold in liver to 8.4% and 2.3‐fold in intestine to 13.7%. The increase in intestine was independent of the increase in liver as evidenced by the lack of correlation between the increase observed in the intestine and liver of the same animal and the different distributions of label in the uracil ring nitrogens. A 2.4‐fold increase in newly formed uracil nucleotides was observed in kidney when the infusion dose was raised from 150 μmol to 250 μmol. The increase in kidney was correlated with the increase in liver in the same animal and the distribution of label in the uracil ring nitrogens was similar to the distribution in liver. These results suggest that the increase in newly formed uracil nucleotides in intestine is due to increased de novo synthesis of pyrimidines in the intestine, while the increase in the kidney is due to increased salvage synthesis of uracil nucleotides from uridine synthesized in the liver and output to the circulation.