A new deoxyuridine-5'-triphosphatase in Yoshida sarcoma cells involved in deoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate metabolism

A magnesium-independent deoxyuridine-5'-triphosphatase was found in Yoshida sarcoma cells but not in normal rat liver. The phosphatase is specific for deoxyuridine 5'-diphosphate and deoxyuridine triphosphate, and its Km for deoxyuridine triphosphate is 2.7 X 10(-7) M. The enzyme was not inhibited by fluoride and required no divalent cations. Thus it differs from known nucleotide phosphatases. Deoxyuridine monophosphokinase, which is detectable in a crude extract of normal rat liver, could not be detected in an extract of Yoshida sarcoma cells. However, with hydroxylapatite column chromatography of the extract, a deoxyuridine 5'-monophosphate kinase activity as high as that in normal rat liver was found in fractions separated from the phosphatase activity. Thus the absence of detectable deoxyuridine 5'-monophosphate kinase activity in the crude extract of Yoshida sarcoma cells is due to the presence of this nucleotide phosphatase.