Some Experiences with Labeling Nucleotides

Abstract

Several years ago it became apparent that uridine nucleotides containing various carbohydrate moieties were the probable precursors of polysaccharides. This observation followed largely from the initial work of Leloir and his collaborators [1] and of Park [2]. Work by Cifonelli and Dorfman [3] showed that Group A streptococci contain UDP-glucuronic acid (UDPGA), UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (UDPAG), and UDP-N-acetylmuramic acid. The first two, UDPGA and UDPAG, contain the constituent monosaccharides of hyaluronic acid (HA), an acid mucopolysaccharide that occurs in connective tissues and in the capsule of certain Group A streptococci. Although reasonable quantities of the nucleotide precursors of HA were available, labeling with C¹⁴ would have been both difficult and time consuming.

These studies were aided by grants from the National Heart Institute of the United States Public Health Service (H-311), the National Foundation and the Chicago Heart Association.

Presented at the Fourth Symposium on Advances in Tracer Methodology, 1960.