Purine and Pyrimidine Pool Sizes and Purine Base Utilization in Human Lymphocytes and Cultured Lymphoblasts

Abstract

Purine base metabolism and purine ribonucleotide interconversions were compared in three lines of cultured human lymphoblasts as well as in normal human peripheral lymphocytes which were isolated by the Ficoll–Hypaque centrifugation procedure. In all cases, conversion of the purine base to the ribonucleoside monophosphate appeared to be rate-limiting. The relative rates of ATP and GTP synthesis from hypoxanthine were observed to vary in the different cells examined. Purine and pyrimidine ribonucleotide pool sizes, as determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography, are presented for the cultured cell lines.