Originally published in Arkiv for Kemi 22 J., 7 (1945). 



76. FATE OF THE NUCLEIC ACID INTRODUCED INTO 



THE CIRCULATION 



L. Ahlstrom, H. Euler, G. Hevesy, and Iv. Zerahn 

 From the Institute for Research in Organic Chemistry, Stockholm and Institute 



for Theoretical Physics, Copenhagen 



When introducing labelled phosphate of negligible weight into the 

 circulation we are labelling the phosphate ions present in the plasma 

 and can follow their path under strictly physiological conditions. Most 

 organic phosphorus compounds introduced into the circulation show a 

 very different behaviour. One of the present waiters and Aten^^) intro- 

 duced labelled hexosemonophosphate (containing 6 mgm P) into the 

 circulation of the rabbit and found after the lapse of 1 ^/g hours only 0.1 

 per cent of the hexose-monophosphate (embden ester) to be present. 

 The hexosemonophosphate was presumably mainly split by contact 

 with the bone and other tissues, a powerful agency producing hydrolysis 

 of hexosemonophosphate being Robinson's bone enzyme^^\ A substantial 

 splitting of hexosemonophosphate takes even place in the isolated plasma. 

 23 per cent of the labelled ester are found to be decomposed when hexose- 

 monophosphate containing ^/jj mgm P is shaken with 10 ml of raljbits 

 plasma for 125 min. at 37°. A somewhat larger percentage (31 per cent) 

 is split when the plasma is replaced by blood. 



That adenosintriphosphate present in the tissues of the various organs 

 promptly exchanges its labile phosphate groups with non-labelled phos- 

 phate present in the tissue, was found in early investigations^^) and was 

 recently elucidated more in detail. <^) 



In view of the great lability of the terminal and the second phosphorus 

 atoms of the adenosintriphosphate molecule, we can expect injected 



(j) G. Hevesy and A. H. W. Aten, Kgl. Danske Videns. Selsk. Biol. Medd. 14^ 

 No. 5 (1939). 



^2) BoDANSKY [J. Biol. Ckem. 118, 391 (1937)] arrived at the resuU, that the 

 phosphatase sphtting hexosemonophosphate comes from the bone, the kidneys 

 or some other tissues but not from the intestinal mucosa. 



(3> G. Hevesy and O. Rebbe, Nature 141, 1097 (1938); T. Korzybski and 

 J. K. Parnas, Soc. Chim. Biol. 21, 713 (1939). 



^*) J. Sachs, Amer.J. Physiol. 142, 145, 621 (1944); Ibid. 143, 157 (1945); R. F. 

 FuRCHGOTT and F. Shore, J. Biol. Chem. 151, 65 (1943); E. V. Flock and J. 

 L. BoLLMANN, 76m/. 152, 37 (1944); H. K. Kalckar, J. Gehlinger and A. Mehler 

 Ibid. 154, 285 (1944). 



