Study of purine metabolism in a xanthinuric female

A case of xanthinuria is briefly described, and the results of in vivo studies with (14)C-labeled oxypurines are discussed. The data demonstrate that the rate of the turnover of uric acid is normal, despite an extremely small uric acid pool. Xanthine and hypoxanthine pools were measured and their metabolism evaluated. The bulk of the daily pool of 276 mg of xanthine, but only 6% of the 960 mg of hypoxanthine, is excreted. Thus, xanthine appears to be a metabolic end product, whereas hypoxanthine is an active intermediate. Biochemical implications of this finding are discussed.