Pyrimidine ribonucleoside phosphorylase activity vs 5- and/or 6-substituted uracil and uridine analogues, including conformational aspects.

The pyrimidine ribonucleoside phosphorylase from Salmonella typhimurium phosphorylyses 6-methyluridine, a uridine analogue sterically constrained to the syn conformation about the glycosylic bond, as effectively as uridine itself. In conjunction with the observation that 3-methyluridine is a very poor substrate compared to 5-methyluridine and 5,6-dimethyluridine, it follows that the phosphorolysis reaction involves the initial conversion of uridine, and other 5-substituted uridines (including 5-fluorouridine), to the syn conformation during interaction with the enzyme. Furthermore, and consistent with the foregoing, the enzyme recognizes as substrates, to varying degrees, the N(3)-ribosides of xanthine and uric acid, and will also catalyze the formation of these ribosides from the corresponding purines, which may be considered formally as 5,6-disubstituted uracils. Similar observations are reported for the synthetic 5,6-trimethyleneuridine. The enzyme does not, however, recognize 6-methyluracil and 5,6-tetramethyleneuridine in the reverse, synthetic, reaction. The conformational aspects of these reactions are discussed. Since it was previously shown that 6-methyluridine is an equally effective substrate for the pyrimidine phosphorylase of primary rabbit kidney cells, at least some of these conformational requirements apply to the enzyme from mammalian sources, and are consequently of relevance in the design of chemotherapeutic agents, for which some examples are cited.