Analysis of purine metabolic enzymes in human CD4 Leu 8- and CD4 Leu 8+ lymphocyte subpopulations

1. Specific activities of adenosine deaminase, purine nucleoside phosphorylase, adenosine kinase, 5'-nucleotidase, S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase, AMP deaminase, adenine phosphoribosyl transferase, and hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase were analyzed in human CD4 T-lymphocyte subsets. 2. CD4 Leu 8- (helper/inducer) and CD4 Leu 8+ (suppressor/inducer) subpopulations were obtained by panning or fluorescence activated cell sorting techniques using specific monoclonal antibodies. 3. A 45% decrease of 5'-NT AMP activity in the CD4 Leu 8- cells (suppressor/inducer) compared with CD4 total cell population. 4. No statistical significant differences in enzyme activity were found between the subsets analyzed in other purine enzymes. 5. These results suggest that the distribution of purine metabolic enzymes is homogeneous in CD4 Leu 8- and CD4 Leu 8+ T-lymphocyte subpopulations.