Abstract
This study was designed to answer the question whether human lymphocytes and spleen cells were capable of de novo purine biosynthesis. Experiments were carried out in cell-free extracts prepared from human spleen, and from a cell line established from Burkitt lymphoma. Burkitt lymphoma cells and human spleen cells could synthesize the first and second intermediates of the purine biosynthetic pathway. Cell-free extracts of all cell lines studied contained the enzyme systems which catalyze the synthesis of phosphoribosyl-1-amine, the first intermediate unique to the purine biosynthetic pathway and of phosphoribosyl glycinamide, the second intermediate of this pathway. Phosphoribosyl-1-amine could be synthesized in cell-free extracts from alpha-5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP) and glutamine, from PRPP and ammonia, and by an alternative pathway, directly from ribose-5-phosphate and ammonia. These findings suggest that extrahepatic tissues may be an important source for the de novo synthesis of purine ribonucleotide in man. They also indicate that ammonia may play an important role in purine biosynthesis. The alternative pathway for the synthesis of phosphoribosyl-1-amine from ribose-5-phosphate and ammonia was found to be subject to inhibition by the end products of the purine synthetic pathway, particularly by adenylic acid and to a lesser degree by guanylic acid. The alternative pathway for phosphoribosyl-1-amine synthesis from ribose-5-phosphate and ammonia may contribute significantly towards the regulation of the rate of de novo purine biosynthesis in the normal state, in metabolic disorders in which purines are excessively produced and in myeloproliferative diseases.