Endothelial nucleotide catabolism and adenosine production

Abstract

Adenosine is generated continuously in cultured HUVEC under normal conditions, but is immediately recycled via adenosine kinase. In ATP depleted cells, nucleotide catabolism proceeds predominantly via intracellular dephosphorylation of AMP with a small contribution from the extracellular dephosphorylation pathway. The capacity of the AMP deamination pathway in endothelium is small and the flux through xanthine oxidoreductase is minimal.