TY - JOUR
T1 - Biopterin conversion to reduced folates by Leishmania donovani promastigotes
AU - Beck, Joanne T.
AU - Ullman, Buddy
PY - 1991/11
Y1 - 1991/11
N2 - The ability of Leishmania donovani promastigotes to proliferate in folate-deficient medium supplemented with pterins suggests that pterins can serve as a source of folate in these parasites [16]. Using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, the ability of intact L. donovani to transform [3H]biopterin into tetrahydrofolates was demonstrated. Radioactivity was primarily associated with 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and 10-formyltetrahydrofolate. A mutant strain of L. donovani, MTXA5, that was genetically deficient in folate transport capacity and incapable of growing in pterin-supplemented folate-deficient growth medium, exhibited a greatly reduced capacity to metabolize [3H]biopterin to reduced folates. These data indicated that wild-type L. donovani promastigotes, unlike mammalian cells, were able to convert biopterin to tetrahydrofolates and supported the hypothesis that folate transport deficiency in mutant organisms is associated with an inability to transform pterins to reduced folates.
AB - The ability of Leishmania donovani promastigotes to proliferate in folate-deficient medium supplemented with pterins suggests that pterins can serve as a source of folate in these parasites [16]. Using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, the ability of intact L. donovani to transform [3H]biopterin into tetrahydrofolates was demonstrated. Radioactivity was primarily associated with 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and 10-formyltetrahydrofolate. A mutant strain of L. donovani, MTXA5, that was genetically deficient in folate transport capacity and incapable of growing in pterin-supplemented folate-deficient growth medium, exhibited a greatly reduced capacity to metabolize [3H]biopterin to reduced folates. These data indicated that wild-type L. donovani promastigotes, unlike mammalian cells, were able to convert biopterin to tetrahydrofolates and supported the hypothesis that folate transport deficiency in mutant organisms is associated with an inability to transform pterins to reduced folates.
KW - Folate biosynthesis
KW - Leishmania donovani
KW - Pterin metabolism
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U2 - 10.1016/0166-6851(91)90126-Q
DO - 10.1016/0166-6851(91)90126-Q
M3 - Article
C2 - 1775157
AN - SCOPUS:0025936205
SN - 0166-6851
VL - 49
SP - 21
EP - 28
JO - Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology
JF - Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology
IS - 1
ER -