Abstract
Xanthine oxidase in man is confined to but a few tissues and is absent from cultured cell strains. In rodents, however, the enzyme is more widely distributed among the tissues and can be demonstrated in most cell lines. Rodents possess the enzyme uricase and are therefore able to carry purine catabolism one step further than man. Preliminary results suggest that uricase is restricted to but a few rodent tissues and is absent from cultured rodent cells. Hence it may be that in each species only the final enzyme of purine catabolism is tissue restricted. In other experiments, mammalian cells were grown in the presence of compounds known to induce xanthine oxidase in a eukaryotic fungus (Aspergillus nidulans). These compounds did not induce the enzyme in mammalian cells.
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Supported by program project grants 1-PO-GM 15419 and GM 18153-01, National Institutes of Health, United States Public Health Service.
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Brunschede, H., Krooth, R.S. Studies on the xanthine oxidase activity of mammalian cells. Biochem Genet 8, 341–350 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00487339
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00487339