What is the primary mechanism by which the drug allopurinol treats gout?
Explanation
Gout is caused by the accumulation of uric acid crystals. Allopurinol is a substrate analog that inhibits xanthine oxidase, the enzyme responsible for the final steps of purine degradation to uric acid. By blocking this enzyme, it reduces uric acid production and promotes excretion of the more soluble precursors, xanthine and hypoxanthine.
Other questions
What is the primary function of leghemoglobin in the root nodules of leguminous plants during nitrogen fixation?
What is the net reaction for the combined action of glutamine synthetase and glutamate synthase in bacteria and plants?
According to the text, which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the regulation of E. coli glutamine synthetase?
What is the primary role of the coenzyme 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP) in amino acid biosynthesis?
The biosynthesis of serine from 3-phosphoglycerate involves which sequence of general reactions?
In the catabolism of heme, what is the role of heme oxygenase?
What is the primary role of the coenzyme S-adenosylmethionine (adoMet)?
What is the consequence of the irreversibility of the reaction converting N5,N10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to N5-methyltetrahydrofolate in the context of vitamin B12 deficiency?
Which amino acid is NOT a member of the biosynthetic family derived from alpha-ketoglutarate?
What is the key structural feature of the enzyme glutamine amidotransferase?
Which statement accurately describes the initial committed step in de novo purine nucleotide synthesis?
How do mammals primarily synthesize phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine?
What is the role of thioredoxin in the synthesis of deoxyribonucleotides?
What is the key difference between the de novo biosynthetic pathways for purines and pyrimidines?
How many ATP molecules are consumed in the overall reaction for biological nitrogen fixation to produce two molecules of ammonium ion?
What is the source of the five-carbon skeleton for the amino acid proline?
What is the role of allopurinol's metabolite, oxypurinol, in the treatment of gout?
The drug methotrexate is a potent inhibitor of which enzyme?
The disease Lesch-Nyhan syndrome is caused by a genetic lack of which enzyme activity?