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Names | |
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IUPAC name Thymidine | |
Systematic IUPAC name 1-[(2R,4S,5R)-4-Hydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)oxolan-2-yl]-5-methylpyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione | |
Other names Deoxythymidine, Td, dT, 1-[(2R,4S,5R)-4-Hydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydrofur-2-yl]-5-methyl-1,3-dihydropyrimidine-2,4-dione | |
Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) | |
ChEMBL | |
ChemSpider | |
DrugBank | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.000.065 |
MeSH | Deoxythymidine |
PubChem CID | |
UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
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Properties | |
C10H14N2O5 | |
Molar mass | 242.231 g·mol−1 |
Melting point | 185 °C |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
Thymidine (symbol dT or dThd), also known as deoxythymidine, deoxyribosylthymine, or thymine deoxyriboside, is a pyrimidine deoxynucleoside. Deoxythymidine is the DNA nucleoside T, which pairs with deoxyadenosine (A) in double-stranded DNA. In cell biology it is used to synchronize the cells in G1/early S phase. The prefix deoxy- is often left out since there are no precursors of thymine nucleotides involved in RNA synthesis.
Before the boom in thymidine use caused by the need for thymidine in the production of the antiretroviral drug azidothymidine (AZT), much of the world's thymidine production came from herring sperm. [1] Thymidine occurs almost exclusively in DNA but it also occurs in the T-loop of tRNA.
In its composition, deoxythymidine is a nucleoside composed of deoxyribose (a pentose sugar) joined to the pyrimidine base thymine.
Deoxythymidine can be phosphorylated with one, two or three phosphoric acid groups, creating dTMP (deoxythymidine monophosphate), dTDP, or dTTP (for the di- and tri- phosphates, respectively).
It exists in solid form as small white crystals or white crystalline powder. It has a molecular weight of 242.229 u and a melting point of 185 °C. The stability of deoxythymidine under standard temperature and pressure (STP) is very high.
Deoxythymidine is non-toxic and as part of one of the four nucleosides in DNA it is a naturally occurring compound that exists in all living organisms and DNA viruses. Instead of thymidine, RNA contains uridine (uracil joined to ribose). Uracil is chemically very similar to thymine, which is also known as 5-methyluracil. Since thymine nucleotides are precursors of DNA (but not RNA), the prefix "deoxy" is often left out, i.e., deoxythymidine is often just called thymidine.
Iododeoxyuridine is a radiosensitizer and increases the amount of DNA damage received from ionizing radiation.
Azidothymidine (AZT) – used in the treatment of HIV infection. AZT inhibits the process of reverse transcription, a critical step in the viral life cycle.
Radiolabeled thymidine (TdR), such as tritiated thymidine (3H-TdR), is commonly used in cell proliferation assays. The thymidine is incorporated into dividing cells and the level of this incorporation, measured using a liquid scintillation counter, is proportional to the amount of cell proliferation. For example, lymphocyte proliferation can be measured this way in lymphoproliferative disorders.
Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) is another thymidine analog that is often used for the detection of proliferating cells in living tissues.
5-Ethynyl-2´-deoxyuridine (EdU) is a thymidine analog which is incorporated into the DNA of dividing cells and is used to assay DNA synthesis in cell culture or living tissues. It can be visualized by covalently binding a fluorescent azide using click chemistry, which is less harsh than the conditions used to expose the epitope for BrdU antibodies.
Edoxudine is an antiviral drug.
Telbivudine (β-L-2'-deoxythymidine, LdT) is the unmodified "unnatural" L-enantiomer of thymidine that was used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. [3]
During growth of bacteriophage T4, an excess of thymidine availability increases mutation. [4] [5] A deficiency of thymidine during growth also increases mutation. [4] A thymidylate auxotroph of the diploid yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was grown under conditions in which thymidyate levels varied from excess to depletion. [6] High levels of thymidylate were observed to be mutagenic and recombinogenic, whereas starvation for thymidylate was recombinogenic but only slightly mutagenic.
Nucleotides are organic molecules composed of a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar and a phosphate. They serve as monomeric units of the nucleic acid polymers – deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which are essential biomolecules within all life-forms on Earth. Nucleotides are obtained in the diet and are also synthesized from common nutrients by the liver.
Uracil is one of the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid RNA. The others are adenine (A), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). In RNA, uracil binds to adenine via two hydrogen bonds. In DNA, the uracil nucleobase is replaced by thymine (T). Uracil is a demethylated form of thymine.
Thymine is one of the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid of DNA that are represented by the letters G–C–A–T. The others are adenine, guanine, and cytosine. Thymine is also known as 5-methyluracil, a pyrimidine nucleobase. In RNA, thymine is replaced by the nucleobase uracil. Thymine was first isolated in 1893 by Albrecht Kossel and Albert Neumann from calf thymus glands, hence its name.
Nucleobases are nitrogen-containing biological compounds that form nucleosides, which, in turn, are components of nucleotides, with all of these monomers constituting the basic building blocks of nucleic acids. The ability of nucleobases to form base pairs and to stack one upon another leads directly to long-chain helical structures such as ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Five nucleobases—adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), thymine (T), and uracil (U)—are called primary or canonical. They function as the fundamental units of the genetic code, with the bases A, G, C, and T being found in DNA while A, G, C, and U are found in RNA. Thymine and uracil are distinguished by merely the presence or absence of a methyl group on the fifth carbon (C5) of these heterocyclic six-membered rings. In addition, some viruses have aminoadenine (Z) instead of adenine. It differs in having an extra amine group, creating a more stable bond to thymine.
Zidovudine (ZDV), also known as azidothymidine (AZT), is an antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use in combination with other antiretrovirals. It may be used to prevent mother-to-child spread during birth or after a needlestick injury or other potential exposure. It is sold both by itself and together as lamivudine/zidovudine and abacavir/lamivudine/zidovudine. It can be used by mouth or by slow injection into a vein.
A salvage pathway is a pathway in which a biological product is produced from intermediates in the degradative pathway of its own or a similar substance. The term often refers to nucleotide salvage in particular, in which nucleotides are synthesized from intermediates in their degradative pathway.
A nucleoside triphosphate is a nucleoside containing a nitrogenous base bound to a 5-carbon sugar, with three phosphate groups bound to the sugar. They are the molecular precursors of both DNA and RNA, which are chains of nucleotides made through the processes of DNA replication and transcription. Nucleoside triphosphates also serve as a source of energy for cellular reactions and are involved in signalling pathways.
Thymidine kinase is an enzyme, a phosphotransferase : 2'-deoxythymidine kinase, ATP-thymidine 5'-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.21. It can be found in most living cells. It is present in two forms in mammalian cells, TK1 and TK2. Certain viruses also have genetic information for expression of viral thymidine kinases. Thymidine kinase catalyzes the reaction:
Thymidine monophosphate (TMP), also known as thymidylic acid, deoxythymidine monophosphate (dTMP), or deoxythymidylic acid, is a nucleotide that is used as a monomer in DNA. It is an ester of phosphoric acid with the nucleoside thymidine. dTMP consists of a phosphate group, the pentose sugar deoxyribose, and the nucleobase thymine. Unlike the other deoxyribonucleotides, thymidine monophosphate often does not contain the "deoxy" prefix in its name; nevertheless, its symbol often includes a "d" ("dTMP"). Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary provides an explanation of the nomenclature variation at its entry for thymidine.
Thymidine diphosphate (TDP) or deoxythymidine diphosphate (dTDP) is a nucleotide diphosphate. It is an ester of pyrophosphoric acid with the nucleoside thymidine. dTDP consists of the pyrophosphate group, the pentose sugar ribose, and the nucleobase thymine. Unlike the other deoxyribonucleotides, thymidine diphosphate does not always contain the "deoxy" prefix in its name.
An antimetabolite is a chemical that inhibits the use of a metabolite, which is another chemical that is part of normal metabolism. Such substances are often similar in structure to the metabolite that they interfere with, such as the antifolates that interfere with the use of folic acid; thus, competitive inhibition can occur, and the presence of antimetabolites can have toxic effects on cells, such as halting cell growth and cell division, so these compounds are used as chemotherapy for cancer.
Nucleoside analogues are nucleosides which contain a nucleic acid analogue and a sugar. Nucleotide analogs are nucleotides which contain a nucleic acid analogue, a sugar, and a phosphate group with one to three phosphates.
Floxuridine is an oncology drug that belongs to the class known as antimetabolites. Specifically, floxuridine is a pyrimidine analog, classified as a deoxyuridine. The drug is usually administered via an artery, and most often used in the treatment of colorectal cancer. The quality of life and survival rates of individuals that receive continuous hepatic artery infusion of floxuridine for colorectal cancer metastases is significantly higher than control groups. Floxuridine can also be prescribed for the treatment of kidney and stomach cancers. In vitro uses of floxuridine include 5-minute treatments of fluorouracil, floxuridine, and mitomycin to increase cell proliferation in Tenon's capsule fibroblasts.
Nucleic acid metabolism is a collective term that refers to the variety of chemical reactions by which nucleic acids are either synthesized or degraded. Nucleic acids are polymers made up of a variety of monomers called nucleotides. Nucleotide synthesis is an anabolic mechanism generally involving the chemical reaction of phosphate, pentose sugar, and a nitrogenous base. Degradation of nucleic acids is a catabolic reaction and the resulting parts of the nucleotides or nucleobases can be salvaged to recreate new nucleotides. Both synthesis and degradation reactions require multiple enzymes to facilitate the event. Defects or deficiencies in these enzymes can lead to a variety of diseases.
Pyrimidine dimers are molecular lesions formed from thymine or cytosine bases in DNA via photochemical reactions, commonly associated with direct DNA damage. Ultraviolet light induces the formation of covalent linkages between consecutive bases along the nucleotide chain in the vicinity of their carbon–carbon double bonds. The photo-coupled dimers are fluorescent. The dimerization reaction can also occur among pyrimidine bases in dsRNA —uracil or cytosine. Two common UV products are cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and 6–4 photoproducts. These premutagenic lesions alter the structure of the DNA helix and cause non-canonical base pairing. Specifically, adjacent thymines or cytosines in DNA will form a cyclobutane ring when joined together and cause a distortion in the DNA. This distortion prevents replication or transcription machinery beyond the site of the dimerization. Up to 50–100 such reactions per second might occur in a skin cell during exposure to sunlight, but are usually corrected within seconds by photolyase reactivation or nucleotide excision repair. In humans, the most common form of DNA repair is nucleotide excision repair (NER). In contrast, organisms such as bacteria can counterintuitively harvest energy from the sun to fix DNA damage from pyrimidine dimers via photolyase activity. If these lesions are not fixed, polymerase machinery may misread or add in the incorrect nucleotide to the strand. If the damage to the DNA is overwhelming, mutations can arise within the genome of an organism and may lead to the production of cancer cells. Uncorrected lesions can inhibit polymerases, cause misreading during transcription or replication, or lead to arrest of replication. It causes sunburn and it triggers the production of melanin. Pyrimidine dimers are the primary cause of melanomas in humans.
Thymidylate synthase (TS) is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of deoxyuridine monophosphate (dUMP) to deoxythymidine monophosphate (dTMP). Thymidine is one of the nucleotides in DNA. With inhibition of TS, an imbalance of deoxynucleotides and increased levels of dUMP arise. Both cause DNA damage.
Thymidine phosphorylase is an enzyme that is encoded by the TYMP gene and catalyzes the reaction:
Discovery and development of nucleoside and nucleotide reverse-transcriptase inhibitors began in the 1980s when the AIDS epidemic hit Western societies. NRTIs inhibit the reverse transcriptase (RT), an enzyme that controls the replication of the genetic material of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The first NRTI was zidovudine, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1987, which was the first step towards treatment of HIV. Six NRTI agents and one NtRTI have followed. The NRTIs and the NtRTI are analogues of endogenous 2´-deoxy-nucleoside and nucleotide. Drug-resistant viruses are an inevitable consequence of prolonged exposure of HIV-1 to anti-HIV drugs.
5',3'-nucleotidase, mitochondrial, also known as 5'(3')-deoxyribonucleotidase, mitochondrial (mdN) or deoxy-5'-nucleotidase 2 (dNT-2), is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the NT5M gene. This gene encodes a 5' nucleotidase that localizes to the mitochondrial matrix. This enzyme dephosphorylates the 5'- and 2'(3')-phosphates of uracil and thymine deoxyribonucleotides. The gene is located within the Smith–Magenis syndrome region on chromosome 17.
This glossary of genetics is a list of definitions of terms and concepts commonly used in the study of genetics and related disciplines in biology, including molecular biology, cell biology, and evolutionary biology. It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical detail, see the article corresponding to each term. For related terms, see Glossary of evolutionary biology.