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Uricolysis by Human Leucocytes

Abstract

ALTHOUGH uricase is absent from the tissues of the human being, there is nevertheless evidence that uric acid is destroyed in man. Benedict, Forsham and Stetten1 first demonstrated by intravenous injection of isotopically labelled urate that only two-thirds to three-fourths of the daily urate turn-over of the body actually appears as urinary uric acid. Furthermore, the total recovery of the injected isotopically labelled uric acid in urinary uric acid over a 7-day period is similarly reduced2. The missing isotope has been demonstrated in a variety of metabolites in the urine, including ammonia, urea, allantoin, allantoic acid, respiratory carbon dioxide and fæcal bacterial bodies, after intravenous administration of uric acid labelled with nitrogen-15 and uric acid-2-14C (refs. 3, 4).

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References

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HOWELL, R., SEEGMILLER, J. Uricolysis by Human Leucocytes. Nature 196, 482–483 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1038/196482a0

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