| Description | Deoxyadenosine is a derivative of the nucleoside adenosine. It is composed of adenine attached to a deoxyribose moiety via a N9-glycosidic bond. Deoxyribose differs from ribose by the absence of oxygen in the 3' position of its ribose ring. Deoxyadenosine is a critical component of DNA. When present in sufficiently high levels, deoxyadensoine can act as an immunotoxin and a metabotoxin. An immunotoxin disrupts, limits the function, or destroys immune cells. A metabotoxin is an endogenous metabolite that causes adverse health effects at chronically high levels. Chronically high levels of deoxyadenosine are associated with adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency, an inborn error of metabolism. ADA deficiency damages the immune system and causes severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). People with SCID lack virtually all immune protection from bacteria, viruses, and fungi. They are prone to repeated and persistent infections that can be very serious or life-threatening. These infections are often caused by "opportunistic" organisms that ordinarily do not cause illness in people with a normal immune system. The main symptoms of ADA deficiency are pneumonia, chronic diarrhea, and widespread skin rashes. The mechanism by which dATP functions as an immunotoxin is as follows: because deoxyadenosine is a precursor to dATP, a buildup of dATP in cells inhibits ribonucleotide reductase and prevents DNA synthesis, so cells are unable to divide. Since developing T cells and B cells are some of the most mitotically active cells, they are unable to divide and propagate to respond to immune challenges. High levels of deoxyadenosine also lead to an increase in S-adenosylhomocysteine, which is toxic to immature lymphocytes. |
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| InChI Identifier | InChI=1S/C10H13N5O3/c11-9-8-10(13-3-12-9)15(4-14-8)7-1-5(17)6(2-16)18-7/h3-7,16-17H,1-2H2,(H2,11,12,13)/t5-,6+,7+/m0/s1 |
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