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Biomedical subjects

I H Fox

Publications and source records attributed to I H Fox.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Biochemical evidence of dysfunction of brain neurotransmitters in the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.

Different brain regions were removed post mortem from three patients with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome and were examined for alterations in hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HGPRT), adenine phosphoribosyl transferase, and biochemical indexes of norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and acetylcholine neuron function, as compared with age-matched controls. The level of HGPRT activity in the material from patients with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome was less than 1 per cent of control levels, whereas adenyl phosphoribosyl transferase was not significantly altered. All biochemical aspects of the function of dopamine-neuron terminals in the striatum (except dihydroxyphenylacetic acid levels) were decreased to 10 to 30 per cent of the control values. Serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels were increased, striatal choline acetyltransferase levels were low, and striatal glutamic acid decarboxylase and guanylate cyclase activities were unaltered. The disruption of the balance between the functions of GABA, dopamine, and acetylcholine neurons in the extrapyramidal system probably accounts for some of the symptoms observed in the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (e.g., choreoathetosis).

Acetylcholine↗

Familial hypogammaglobulinemia with variable serum immunoglobulins. Concordance with lymphocyte ecto-5'-nucleotidase deficiency.

Four male subjects from two generations of a black family were found to have variable expression of hypogammaglobulinemia (IgG, IgM, and IgA deficiency in two, IgA deficiency in one, and IgM and IgA deficiency in another) and also to be moderately deficient in the lymphocyte plasma membrane enzyme, 5'-nucleotidase. The inheritance pattern of the immune abnormality is compatible with X linkage. The affected patients had normal numbers of complement receptor-bearing lymphocytes, variably depressed proportions of IgM- and IgD-bearing lymphocytes, and impaired ability to synthesize antibody after specific antigenic stimulation. In this family, the 5'-nucleotidase deficiency and the pattern of inheritance suggest that the different types of hypogammaglobulinemia may represent a variable expression of a common underlying genetic abnormality.

Adolescent↗

Metabolic basis for disorders of purine nucleotide degradation.

Purine nucleotide degradation refers to a regulated series of reactions by which human purine ribonucleotides and deoxyribonucleotides are degraded to uric acid in humans. Two major types of disorders occur in this pathway. A block of degradation occurs with syndromes involving immune deficiency, myopathy or renal calculi. Increased degradation of nucleotides occurs with syndromes characterized by hyperuricemia and gout, renal calculi, anemia or acute hypoxia. Management of disorders of purine nucleotide degradation is dependent upon modifying the specific molecular pathology underlying each disease state.

AMP Deaminase↗

Increased adenine nucleotide turnover in duchenne muscular dystrophy.

To investigate a possible disorder of adenine nucleotide turnover in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, we evaluated 15 patients with mild Duchenne muscular dystrophy, eight patients with severe muscular dystrophy, seven patients with other neuromuscular disorders, and eight patients with hypogammaglobulinemia but no muscle disease. The serum urate concentration was similar in all four groups. Base line urinary purine excretion was elevated in all patients with neuromuscular disease with values of 1.72 +/- 0.15, 2.37 +/- 0.22, 2.49 +/- 0.35, and 2.60 +/- 0.48 mumoles/100 ml glomerular filtration for control subjects, mild Duchenne muscular dystrophy, severe disease, and other neuromuscular diseases, respectively. Adenine nucleotide pool turnover was measured by labeling with [8-14C]adenine and then 5 days later administering intravenous fructose. Five-day cumulative mean radioactivity excretion was elevated in mild and severe Duchenne muscular dystrophy with excretion values of 11.4 +/- 0.7 and 11.5 +/- 1.1% of administered radioactivity, respectively, as compared to 9.0 +/- 0.9% of administered radioactivity for control subjects. After intravenous fructose infusion, patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy had a less than normal rise in serum urate concentration, a normal increase of urinary urinary purine excretion, and a greater than normal elevation of urinary radioactivity excretion and urinary purine specific activity. Patients with other neuromuscular diseases had virtually no rise in plasma urate concentration, less than normal increase in urinary total purine excretion, and a greater than normal increase of urinary radioactivity excretion and urinary specific activity. These observations suggest that there is an increased rate of adenine nucleotide turnover in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In patients with other neuromuscular disease an increased rate of adenine nucleotide turnover resembled the abnormality expected from a diminished adenine nucleotide pool.

Adenine Nucleotides↗

Enhanced purine salvage during allopurinol therapy: an important pharmacologic property in humans.

The contribution of enhanced purine salvage to the decreased total purine excretion associated with allopurinol therapy was measured by the intravenous administration of tracer doses of [8-(14)C] adenine to four patients with gout and normal purine salvage enzyme activity and four patients with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome and absent purine salvage activity. The mean cumulative excretion of radioactivity 5 days after the adenine administration to patients not receiving and receiving (off and on) allopurinol therapy was 6.1% and 3.6% of infused radioactivity for gouty subjects and 15.9% and 20.8% for the Lesch-Nyhan patients. Urate pool size and urate turnover, as measured by pool labeling with [2-(14)C]uric acid, were substantially decreased in both groups of patients during allopurinol therapy. The intestinal loss of uric acid was estimated from these pool measurements on and off allopurinol. With a correction for this extrarenal purine loss, the mean cumulative excretions of radioactivity 5 days after adenine administration to patients off and on allopurinol therapy were 11.9% and 4.8% for the gouty subjects and 31.7% and 24.5% for the Lesch-Nyhan patients. In vitro studies demonstrated no alteration of the synthesis or degradation of adenine nucleotides by allopurinol in cultured human diploid fibroblasts. These observations suggest that enhanced purine salvage is an important component leading to decreased purine excretion during allopurinol therapy.

Adenine Nucleotides↗

Human placental adenosine kinase. Kinetic mechanism and inhibition.

The kinetic properties of human placental adenosine kinase, purified 3600-fold, were studied. The reaction velocity had an absolute requirement for magnesium and varied with the pH. Maximal activity was observed at pH 6.5 with a Mg2+:ATP ranging from 1:1 to 2:1. High concentrations of Mg2+ or free ATP were inhibitory. Double reciprocal plots of initial velocity studies yielded intersecting lines for both adenosine and MgATP2-. The Michaelis constant was 0.4 micro M for adenosine and 75 micro M for MgATP2-. Inhibition by adenosine was observed at concentrations greater than 2.5 micro M. AMP was a competitive inhibitor with respect to adenosine and a noncompetitive inhibitor with respect to ATP. ADP was a noncompetitive inhibitor with respect to adenosine and ATP. Hyperbolic inhibition was observed during noncompetitive inhibition of adenosine kinase by AMP and ADP. Other purine and pyrimidine nucleoside mono-, di-, and triphosphates were poor inhibitors in general. S-Adenosylhomocysteine and 2'-deoxyadenosine inhibited adenosine kinase. The data suggest that (a) MgATP2- is the true substrate of adenosine kinase, and both pH and [Mg2+] may regulate its activity; (b) the kinetic mechanisms of adenosine kinase is Ordered Bi Bi; and (c) adenosine kinase may be regulated by the concentrations of its products, AMP and ADP, but is relatively insensitive to other purine and pyrimidine nucleotides.

Adenosine Kinase↗

Hypoxanthine salvage in man: its importance in urate overproduction in the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.

1. A daily urinary excretion of 0.8 percent of the administered radioactivity results from the turnover of the labeled adenine nucleotide pool. 2. A 4-fold increase of urinary radioactivity excretion occurs in patients with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome and support the role of impaired hypoxanthine salvage in the purine overexcretion associated with HGPRT deficiency. 3. Our data do not support the possibility that the increased radioactivity excretion in the HGPRT deficient subjects results from an elevated rate of adenine nucleotide degradation.

Adenine↗

Altered purine and pyrimidine metabolism in erythrocytes with purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency.

Purine and pyrimidine metabolism was compared in erythrocytes from three patients from two families with purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency and T-cell immunodeficiency, one heterozygote subject for this enzyme deficiency, one patient with a complete deficiency of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, and two normal subjects. The erythrocytes from the heterozygote subject were indistinguishable from the normal erythrocytes. The purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficient erythrocytes had a block in the conversion of inosine to hypoxanthine. The erythrocytes with 0.07% of normal purine nucleoside phosphorylase activity resembled erythrocytes with hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency by having an elevated intracellular concentration of PP-ribose-P, increased synthesis of PP-ribose-P, and an elevated rate of carbon dioxide release from orotic acid during its conversion to UMP. Two hypotheses to account for the associated immunodeficiency--that the enzyme deficiency leads to a block of PP-ribose-P synthesis or inhibition of pyrimidine synthesis--could not be supported by observations in erythrocytes from both enzyme-deficient families.

Child↗

Purine metabolism during strenuous muscular exercise in man.

This study was designed to examine the influence of exercise on purine metabolism in man. In 15 men, the plasma uric acid concentration increased from 6.9 to 8.5 mg/dl following a 5000-m race and from 6.2 to 7.9 mg/dl in 11 men following a 42-km marathon. During a progressive exercise test on a cycle ergometer, the plasma uric acid ocnentration did not change significantly in 11 subjects. However, the plasma oxypurines increased from 19 micrM at rest to 50 microM at exhaustion and the urinary excretion of oxypurines increased from 140 to 400 mumol/g creatinine. Intracellular ATP decreased from 5.17 to 2.91 mumol/g and ADP and AMP increased from 0.85 to 1.29 and from 0.12 to 0.15 mumol/g wet weight, respectively. These observations suggest that there is an accelerated degradation of purine nucleotides to the precursors of uric acid in skeletal muscle during vigorous exercise.

Adenine Nucleotides↗

Limited value of uric acid to creatinine ratios in estimating uric acid excretion.

The value of the uric acid to creatinine ratio and the uric acid to creatinine clearance ratio in predicting 24-hour urinary uric acid excretion was assessed in 49 patients with normal enzyme activity and 22 patients with purine enzyme deficiencies. A 24-hour urinary uric acid to creatinine ratio greater than 0.75 was found in six of nine patients with a partial deficiency of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase and in all patients with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. A ratio of less than 0.10 suggested xanthinuria or severe purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency. Neither ratio calculated from 2-hour timed collections of the 24-hour specimen showed a high correlation with 24-hour urine uric acid excretion in patients with normal enzyme activity, perhaps because of a diurnal variation in urinary uric acid excretion. The spot-urine uric acid to creatinine ratio does not accurately predict the 24-hour urine uric acid excretion in patients with normal enzyme activity.

Adolescent↗

Histochemical evaluation of lymphocytes in hypogammaglobulinemia. Decreased number of 5'-nucleotidase-positive cells.

With the use of a histochemical technique, 5'-nucleotidase activity was examined in peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with primary hypogammaglobulinemia. Our current study demonstrates that the decrease in 5'-nucleotidase activity in congenital agammaglobulinemia, previously demonstrated by a radiochemical assay, is associated with a reduction in the number of cells containing 5'-nucleotidase rather than with a decrease of the enzyme activity per cell. Both sheep erythrocyte rosette-forming and nonrosette-forming PBMs have reduced percentages of 5'-nucleotidase-containing cells in subjects with the enzyme deficiency. The reduced percentage of 5'-nucleotidase-containing mononuclear cells in patients with congenital agammaglobulinemia was evident in both monocyte-contaminated and monocyte-depleted cell preparations.

Adult↗

Decreased S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase in inborn errors of purine metabolism.

A deficiency of erythrocyte S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase has been confirmed in three patients with adenosine deaminase deficiency. In addition, erythrocyte S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase activity was decreased by 85% in three patients with purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency and by 57% in 15 patients with hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency. Cultured diploid fibroblasts from these patients were normal. Besides deoxyadenosin, no compound known to accumulate in these disorders caused S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase inactivation. S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase had a normal half-life in the erythrocytes from two patients with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. A secondary deficiency of S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase may accompany a number of inborn errors of purine metabolism. Whether this enzyme deficiency contributes to the molecular pathology of these diseases is not known.

Adenosine Deaminase↗

Familial hyperuricemia and renal disease.

Information on a familial syndrome of hyperuricemia and renal disease with or without gout was obtained on 33 of 41 blood relatives: Nine had renal disease; abnormalities of the urinary sediments were minimal; serum uric acid levels were elevated in seven and were not measured in two. Hyperuricemia was noted in three additional family members without evidence of renal disease. Goulty arthritis (three patients) did not precede renal disease. One individual had hyperuricosuria. The following erythrocyte purine enzyme levels were normal: adenine phosphoribosyltransferase, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, phosphoribosylpyrophosphate, synthetase, adenosine deaminiase, and purine nucleoside phosphorylase. Renal biopsy specimens showed focal global and segmental sclerosis of glomeruli, occasional hypercellularity, foci of atrophic tubules, chronic interstitial inflammation, and folding and wrinkling of glomerular basement membrane without electron-dense deposits. There were no immunofluorescent abnormalities.

Arthritis↗