Theophylline-induced increase in plasma uric acid--purine catabolism increased by theophylline.

The effect of theophylline on the concentration of uric acid in plasma was investigated. Theophylline increased the plasma concentrations of purine bases (uric acid, hypoxanthine and xanthine) without a decreased urinary excretion of these purine bases in normal subjects. 1-methyl uric acid, a metabolite of theophylline, was not converted to uric acid in a detectable level by the hepatoma-derived cell line HuH-7 cells. Although theophylline affected neither the concentration of nucleotides nor the activities of the enzymes related to purine metabolism (hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase, 5'-nucleotidase, adenosine deaminase and purine nucleoside phosphorylase) in erythrocytes, these results suggested that theophylline-induced purine degradation seems to be a cause of the increased concentration of uric acid in plasma.