title: The purinosome, a multi-protein complex involved in the de novo biosynthesis of purines in humans.
abstract: Purine nucleotides are ubiquitous molecules that play vital roles in all kingdoms of life, not only as components of nucleic acids, but also participating in signaling and energy storage. Cellular pools of purines are maintained by the tight control of several complementary and sometimes competing processes including de novo biosynthesis, salvage and catabolism of nucleotides. While great strides have been made over the past sixty years in understanding the biosynthesis of purines, we are experiencing a renaissance in this field. In this feature article we discuss the most recent discoveries relating to purine biosynthesis, with particular emphasis upon the dynamic multi-protein complex called the purinosome. In particular we highlight advances made towards understanding the assembly, control and function of this protein complex and the attempts made to exploit this knowledge for drug discovery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, 414 Wartik Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Jarrod B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Benkovic
mesh_terms: D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000378:metabolism*; D011687:Purines / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D011687:Purines