Nucleotide Metabolism Pathway Assays
Nucleotide metabolism encompasses the enzymatic pathways that synthesize, maintain, and quality-control DNA and RNA building blocks essential for cell division and survival. Cancer cells exhibit heightened dependence on nucleotide metabolism to sustain rapid proliferation, making enzymes in this pathway attractive therapeutic targets. Reaction Biology’s Nucleotide Metabolism Pathway Assays provide biochemical screening platforms across three critical branches that define this metabolic network:
- Pyrimidine synthesis pathways that generate cytosine and thymine nucleotides.
- Purine and one-carbon metabolism pathways that produce adenine and guanine precursors.
- Nucleotide pool sanitization systems that remove damaged nucleotides before DNA incorporation.
Our portfolio includes dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) assays for pyrimidine synthesis inhibition—validated in acute myeloid leukemia differentiation therapy—alongside methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (MTHFD) assays targeting the folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism essential for purine and thymidylate biosynthesis. Additionally, our MTH1 (NUDT1) nucleotide pool sanitization assays enable discovery of compounds exploiting cancer’s oxidative stress vulnerability by preventing removal of damaged nucleotides.
