Thymidine monophosphate

Thymidine monophosphate formation

Cells utilize two separate pathways to produce thymidine monophosphate. One of these pathways is a salvage pathway. In the salvage pathway, thymidine (dT) undergoes phosphorylation by the enzyme TK1. By phosphorylating dT, TK1 adds a phosphate group to dT, resulting in dTMP. The other pathway that leads to the formation of TMP is a de novo, pathway. During the de novo pathway, dTMP is formed from the nucleotide deoxyuridine monophosphate (dUMP). In this pathway, thymidylate synthase (TS) adds a methyl group to deoxyuridine monophosphate to form dTMP.

Uses in DNA

Following its synthesis by the salvage or de novo pathways, dTMP then goes through a series of phosphorylations that result in the deoxythymidine triphosphates (dTTP) that are vital in the synthesis of DNA. Deoxynucleotides (dNTPs) are used in the synthesis of DNA, and dTMP is a precursor to one of the dNTPs, dTTP. In cells, dTMP is synthesized into deoxythymidine diphosphate (dTDP) using thymidylate kinase. From dTDP, dTTP is then synthesized using a nucleotide diphosphate kinase. The dTTP that is synthesized from dTMPs are used in DNA synthesis in both the mitochondria and the cytosol. In addition to its role in DNA synthesis, dTTP is also a requisite for DNA repair, thus indicating the importance of dTMP in the synthesis and repair of DNA.

References

References

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