| Description | Thymidine, also known as deoxythymidine or deoxyribosylthymine or thymine deoxyriboside, is a pyrimidine deoxynucleoside. It consists of the nucleobase thymine attached to deoxyribose through a beta N- glycosidic bond. Thymidine also belongs to the class of organic compounds known as pyrimidine 2'-deoxyribonucleosides. Pyrimidine 2'-deoxyribonucleosides are compounds consisting of a pyrimidine linked to a ribose which lacks a hydroxyl group at position 2. Deoxythymidine (or thymidine) is the DNA nucleoside T, which pairs with deoxyadenosine (A) in double-stranded DNA. Therefore, thymidine is essential to all life. Indeed, thymidine exists in all living species, ranging from bacteria to plants to humans. Within humans, thymidine participates in a number of enzymatic reactions. In particular, thymidine can be biosynthesized from 5-thymidylic acid through its interaction with the enzyme cytosolic purine 5'-nucleotidase. In addition, thymidine can be converted into 5-thymidylic acid; which is catalyzed by the enzyme thymidine kinase. 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). dTMP can be incorporated into DNA via DNA polymerases. In cell biology, thymidine can be used to synchronize the cells in S phase. Derivatives of thymidine are used in a number of drugs, including Azidothymidine (AZT), which is used in the treatment of HIV infection. AZT inhibits the process of reverse transcription in the human immunodeficiency virus. |
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| InChI Identifier | InChI=1S/C10H14N2O5/c1-5-3-12(10(16)11-9(5)15)8-2-6(14)7(4-13)17-8/h3,6-8,13-14H,2,4H2,1H3,(H,11,15,16)/t6-,7+,8+/m0/s1 |
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