A new method for the determination of adenine phosphoribosyltransferase activity in human erythrocytes by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography.

A new method for the determination of adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) activity in human erythrocytes is described. APRT activity was assayed by a non-radiochemical method in which adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and AMP metabolites produced from a substrate adenine were converted to inosine by alkaline phosphatase and adenosine deaminase. The inosine thus produced was quantitated by reversed phase HPLC. This method was simple, precise, sensitive and free from interference with other co-existing erythrocyte enzymes. Four patients with 2,8-dihydroxyadenine urolithiasis and others with several disorders in purine metabolism have been studied, showing that the present method is clinically useful for the diagnosis and the evaluation of the severity of some human diseases.