Hypoxanthine

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Hypoxanthine
IUPAC name 3,7-dihydropurin-6-one
Identifiers
CAS number [68-94-0]
PubChem 790
MeSH Hypoxanthine
SMILES O=C1NC=Nc2nc[nH]c12
Properties
Molecular formula C5H4N4O
Molar mass 136.112
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for
materials in their standard state
(at 25 °C, 100 kPa)

Infobox disclaimer and references

Hypoxanthine is a naturally occurring purine derivative. It is occasionally found as a constituent of nucleic acids where it is present in the anticodon of tRNA in the form of its nucleoside inosine. It is also known as 6-Hydroxypurine. Hypoxanthine is a necessary additive in certain cell, bacteria and parasite cultures as a substrate and nitrogen source. For example it is commonly a required reagent in malaria parasite cultures since Plasmodium falciparum requires a source of hypoxanthine for nucleic acid synthesis and energy metabolism.


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It is one of the products of the action of xanthine oxidase on xanthine, though more normally in purine degradation, hypoxanthine is formed from oxidation of xanthine by xanthine oxidase.

Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase converts hypoxanthine into IMP in nucleotide salvage.

Hypoxanthine is also a spontaneous deamination product of adenine. Because of its resemblance to guanine, the spontaneous deamination of adenine can lead to an error in DNA transcription/replication.

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