Study Identifies A Reductive Uric Acid Degradation Pathway In Anaerobic Bacteria

For galore years, uric acerb degradation is known arsenic occurring chiefly done an oxidative pathway, successful which uricase enzymes usage oxygen to break nan purine ringing and person uric acerb into allantoin. Humans and higher primates deficiency functional uricase, which is why they are peculiarly prone to uric acerb accumulation and gout.

A caller study published successful Life Metabolism reports an replacement "reductive pathway" that functions without oxygen. In this route, uric acerb is first reduced to a recently identified metabolite, "yanthine", and past further surgery down by a series of reductive dearomatization and ring-cleaving reactions, yet yielding mini molecules specified arsenic pyruvate and ammonia. This find revises nan long-standing position of purine catabolism and highlights nan metabolic versatility of gut germs successful anaerobic environments.

Importantly, nan study besides detected "yanthine" circulating successful quality blood, pinch importantly higher levels successful patients pinch gout compared pinch patient individuals. This suggests that "yanthine" could service arsenic a biomarker for diagnosing aliases monitoring uric acid-related disorders. To research therapeutic potential, nan squad engineered a probiotic strain of Escherichia coli to constitutively activate nan reductive pathway. In a uricase-deficient rodent exemplary of hyperuricemia, oral management of this engineered strain importantly lowered humor uric acerb levels, alleviated kidney injury, and remained stably colonized successful nan gut.

Together, these findings found nan reductive uric acerb pathway arsenic a awesome summation to nan known repertoire of microbial metabolism. The activity not only advances basal knowing of purine degradation but besides points towards applicable applications successful biomarker find and nan improvement of probiotic-based strategies to thief power gout.

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Journal reference:

Li, Z., et al. (2025). A reductive uric acerb degradation pathway successful anaerobic bacteria. Life Metabolism. doi.org/10.1093/lifemeta/loaf031