Urinary purines in leukemia.

Urinary purine excretion has been determined for four normal subjects, for thirteen patients with different types of acute and chronic leukemia, and for one man with mycosis fungoides by means of paper chromatography. Differentiation between types of leukemia, based on punine excretion, was not conclusive. Increases in 1-methylhypoxanthine and 8-hydroxy-7-methylguanine in nearly all patients, and 7-methylguanine excretion in one-third of the patients, suggest that methylation of purines is increased in patients with leukemia. Since treatment with methotrexate diminished the excretion of these compounds somewhat, it is possible that the methylation is folio-acid dependent. Increases in adenine and 6-succinoaminopurine were each observed in haLf the patients. Spot “W― was increased in one-third of the patients. No consistent treatment effects on the excretion of these compounds were seen. Hypoxanthine and xanthine excretion was usually normal. High or low excretions were seen in single cases of differ ent types of leukemia. No consistent relationship to excretion of uric acid for these or any other compounds was seen. Two ultraviolet-absorbing spots, “M― and “P,― not previously described in urine were repeatedly observed. Neither was identified, but they are presumed to be punines or punine derivatives. Spot “P― has an unusual and characteristic spectrum which appears to be similar to that reported by others for a component of a peptide-nucleo tide complex from Saccharomyces formosensis.