Reports Understanding

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Overview

Uric acid is synthesized mainly in the liver, intestines and the vascular endothelium as the end product of an exogenous pool of purines, and endogenously from damaged, dying and dead cells, whereby nucleic acids, adenine and guanine, are degraded into uric acid. 

Uric acid is a chemical created when the body breaks down substances called purines. Purines are normally produced in the body and are also found in some foods and drinks. Foods with high content of purines include liver, anchovies, mackerel, dried beans and peas, and beer.

Purines are natural substances found in all of the body’s cells and in virtually all foods. In humans, purines are metabolized to uric acid, which serves as an antioxidant and helps to prevent damage caused by active oxygen species. A continuous supply of uric acid is important for protecting human blood vessels. However, frequent and high intake of purine-rich foods reportedly enhances serum uric acid levels, which results in gout and could be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and metabolic syndrome.

A high protein diet can create high uric acid levels as purines in the protein (not in eggs and non fermented dairy) convert to uric acid which can result in gout.

Too much exercise in the alteration of uric acid levels. (A) Cellular component-strenuous exercise causes an in- creased turnover of tissue ATP( adenosine triphosphate) leading to an increase in the purine pool, the immediate precursor of uric acid.

ATP:
It is often referred to as the energy currency of the cell and can be compared to storing money in a bank. ATP can be used to store energy for future reactions or be withdrawn to pay for reactions when energy is required by the cell. Animals store the energy obtained from the breakdown of food as ATP.

Causes of a high uric acid level in the blood include: Diuretics (water retention relievers) Drinking too much alcohol. Drinking too much soda or eating too much of foods that contain fructose, a type of sugar.

Purines and pyrimidines are the two families of nitrogenous bases that make up nucleic acids – in other words, they are the building blocks of DNA and RNA

What are Purines and Pyrimidines?: The Basics

Each DNA strand has a ‘backbone’ that is made up of a sugar-phosphate chain. Attached to each one of these sugars is a nitrogenous base that is composed of carbon and nitrogen rings. The number of rings this base has determines whether the base is a purine (two rings) or a pyrimidine (one ring). The purines on one strand of DNA form hydrogen bonds with the corresponding pyrimidines on the opposite strand of DNA, and vice versa, to hold the two strands together. Within DNA molecules, this is their most important function and is known as base pairing. Because hydrogen bonds are not as strong as covalent bonds, base pairings can easily be separated, allowing for replication and transcription.

Because purines always bind with pyrimidines – known as complementary pairing – the ratio of the two will always be constant within a DNA molecule. In other words, one strand of DNA will always be an exact complement of the other as far as purines and pyrimidines go.This phenomenon is known as Chargaff’s Rule, named after Irwin Chargaff, who first noticed it. This complementary pairing occurs because the respective sizes of the bases and because of the kinds of hydrogen bonds that are possible between them (they pair more favorably with bases with which they can have the maximum amount of hydrogen bonds).

Types of Purines and Pyrimidines

There are two main types of purine: Adenine and Guanine. Both of these occur in both DNA and RNA. There are three main types of pyrimidines, however only one of them exists in both DNA and RNA: Cytosine. The other two are Uracil, which is RNA-exclusive, and Thymine, which is DNA-exclusive. One strategy that may help you remember this is to think of pyrimidines like pyramids that have sharp and pointy tops. So sharp and pointy in fact, that they might CUT (Cytosine, Uracil, Thymine) you.

Which purines pair with which pyrimidines is always constant, as is the number of hydrogen bonds between them:

• ADENINE pairs with THYMINE (A::T) with two hydrogen bonds
• GUANINE pairs with CYTOSINE (G::C) with three hydrogen bonds

One way to remember which bases go together is to look at the shapes of the letters themselves. The letters made up of only straight lines (A and T) are paired with each other, while the letters that are made up of curves (G and C) also go together. Just make sure you don’t write your A’s in cursive!

Purines vs. Pyrimidines

When it comes to identifying the main differences between purines and pyrimidines, what you’ll want to remember is the ‘three S’s’: Structure, Size, and Source. The very basics of what you need to know are in the table below, but you can find more details about each one further down.