Pentose shunt, phosphoribosylpyrophosphate generation and purine-phosphoribosyltransferases in erythrocytes of patients with polycythemia vera

Abstract

Erythrocytes of patients with polycythemia vera exhibited increased activity of oxidative pentose shunt, accelerated generation of phosphoribosylpyrophosphate, increased incorporation of 14C-adenine into nucleotides, and increased activity and thermostability of adenine-phosphoribosyltransferase. These abnormalities are attributed to age dependency of the pathways concerned and presence in polycythemia vera of an erythrocyte population younger than normal.