Guanine is one of the five main nucleobases found in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA. Guanine is a derivative of purine, consisting of a fused pyrimidine-imidazole ring system with conjugated double bonds. Being unsaturated, the bicyclic molecule is planar. The guanine nucleoside is called guanosine. The first isolation of guanine was reported in 1844 from the excreta of sea birds, known as guano, which was used as a source of fertilizer. High affinity binding of guanine nucleotides and the ability to hydrolyze bound GTP to GDP are characteristics of an extended family of intracellular proteins. Guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins may be involved in the activation of phospholipases C and A2 by hormones and other ligands. The binding of hormones to receptors that activate phospholipase C is decreased by guanine nucleotides and these hormones also stimulate a high-affinity GTPase activity in cell membranes. Effects of hormones on phospholipase C activity in cell-free preparations are dependent on the presence of guanine nucleotides. Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT, EC 2.4.2.8) is a purine salvage enzyme that catalyses the conversion of hypoxanthine and guanine to their respective mononucleotides. Partial deficiency of this enzyme can result in the overproduction of uric acid leading to a severe form of gout, whilst a virtual absence of HPRT activity causes the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, an inborn error of metabolism, which is characterised by hyperuricaemia, mental retardation, choreoathetosis and compulsive self-mutilation. Peroxynitrite induces DNA base damage predominantly at guanine (G) and 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) nucleobases via oxidation reactions. G and 8-oxoG are the most reactive bases toward Peroxynitrite and possibly the major contributors to peroxynitrite-derived genotoxic and mutagenic lesions. The neutral G radical, reacts with NO2 to yield 8-nitroguanine and 5-nitro-4-guanidinohydantoin (PMID: 16352449 , 2435586 , 2838362 , 1487231 ).
Belongs to the class of organic compounds known as purines and purine derivatives. These are aromatic heterocyclic compounds containing a purine moiety, which is formed a pyrimidine-ring ring fused to an imidazole ring.
