title: Uridine diphosphoglucose content of human erythrocytes: assessment by conversion to uridine diphosphoglucuronate.
abstract: To settle the ongoing controversy regarding differential uridine diphosphoglucose (UDPG) and uridine diphosphogalactose (UDPGal) content of erythrocytes, which may be important in evaluating the metabolic abnormality in patients with galactosemia, we derived a combined enzymatic-high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay. Uridine diphosphoglucuronate (UDPGA), the unique product of UDPG dehydrogenase activity, was separated and quantified by HPLC in extracts of human erythrocytes. The quantity of UDPGA produced in cell filtrates incubated with the enzyme corresponds to the amount of UDPG directly determined by HPLC. The amount of UDPGA produced was independent of the enzyme purity or activity used. On the other hand, the amounts of UDPG estimated by fluorometric measurement of the production of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide varied with the enzyme purity and activity. The combined enzymatic-HPLC method confirms the direct determinations of UDPG content of normal erythrocytes. The results indicate that, under appropriate conditions, the fluorometric-based assay will give accurate estimates of UDPG, but the direct HPLC method yields consistent and correct UDPG and UDPGal determinations.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biochemical Development and Molecular Diseases, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA 19104.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Palmieri
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Segal
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D012016:Reference Values; D014531:Uridine Diphosphate Galactose / Q000097:blood; D014532:Uridine Diphosphate Glucose / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D014533:Uridine Diphosphate Glucose Dehydrogenase
chemical_list: D014531:Uridine Diphosphate Galactose; D014533:Uridine Diphosphate Glucose Dehydrogenase; D014532:Uridine Diphosphate Glucose