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PRPS1 gene
URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/gene/prps1/

PRPS1 gene

phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase 1

Normal Function

The PRPS1 gene provides instructions for making an enzyme called phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase 1, or PRPP synthetase 1. This enzyme helps produce a molecule called phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate (PRPP). PRPP is involved in making purine and pyrimidine nucleotides. These nucleotides are building blocks of DNA, its chemical cousin RNA, and molecules such as ATP and GTP that serve as energy sources in the cell.

Purines and pyrimidines may be manufactured from smaller molecules, or they can be recycled from the breakdown of DNA and RNA in a series of reactions called the salvage pathway. Manufacturing purines and pyrimidines uses much more energy and takes more time than recycling them, which makes recycling these molecules more efficient. The salvage pathway ensures that cells have a plentiful supply of purines and pyrimidines.

PRPP synthetase 1 and PRPP are involved in the manufacture of new purines and pyrimidines, and are also essential for the purine salvage pathway.

Health Conditions Related to Genetic Changes

Arts syndrome

At least three PRPS1 gene mutations have been identified in people with Arts syndrome, a disorder that causes serious neurological problems in males. Females can also be affected by this condition, but they typically have much milder symptoms.

The PRPS1 gene mutations that cause Arts syndrome change single protein building blocks (amino acids) in the PRPP synthetase 1 enzyme. The mutations are believed to result in the production of an unstable enzyme with little or no activity. The lack of functional PRPP synthetase 1 enzyme disrupts both the manufacture and recycling of purines. The manufacture of pyrimidines is also affected, but not the pyrimidine salvage pathway. The disruption of purine production, and to a lesser extent pyrimidine production, may impair energy storage and transport in cells. Impairment of these processes may have a particularly severe effect on tissues that require a large amount of energy, such as the nervous system, resulting in the neurological problems characteristic of Arts syndrome.

More About This Health Condition

Phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase superactivity

At least seven mutations in the PRPS1 gene that cause a severe form of phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase superactivity (PRS superactivity) have been identified. These mutations change single amino acids in the PRPP synthetase 1 enzyme, resulting in a poorly regulated, overactive enzyme. In a milder form of PRS superactivity, the PRPS1 gene is overactive for reasons that are not well understood. PRPS1 gene overactivity increases the production of normal PRPP synthetase 1 enzyme, which increases the availability of PRPP. In both forms of the disorder, excessive amounts of purines are generated.

Under these conditions, uric acid, a waste product of purine breakdown, accumulates in the body. A buildup of uric acid can cause gout, which is a form of arthritis resulting from uric acid crystals in the joints. Affected individuals may also develop kidney or bladder stones formed from uric acid crystals.

People with the severe form of PRS superactivity have additional symptoms including loss of hearing caused by changes in the inner ear (sensorineural hearing loss), weak muscle tone (hypotonia), impaired muscle coordination (ataxia), and developmental delay. It is unclear how the PRPS1 gene mutations that cause the severe form of PRS superactivity are related to these neurological problems.

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Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

MedlinePlus Genetics provides information about Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

More About This Health Condition

Nonsyndromic hearing loss

MedlinePlus Genetics provides information about Nonsyndromic hearing loss

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Other Names for This Gene

  • ARTS
  • CMTX5
  • dJ1070B1.2 (phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase 1)
  • KIAA0967
  • PPRibP
  • PRPS1_HUMAN
  • PRSI

Additional Information & Resources

Tests Listed in the Genetic Testing Registry

Scientific Articles on PubMed

Catalog of Genes and Diseases from OMIM

Gene and Variant Databases

References

  • Ahmed M, Taylor W, Smith PR, Becker MA. Accelerated transcription of PRPS1 in X-linked overactivity of normal human phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase. J Biol Chem. 1999 Mar 12;274(11):7482-8. doi: 10.1074/jbc.274.11.7482. Citation on PubMed
  • Becker MA, Smith PR, Taylor W, Mustafi R, Switzer RL. The genetic and functional basis of purine nucleotide feedback-resistant phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase superactivity. J Clin Invest. 1995 Nov;96(5):2133-41. doi: 10.1172/JCI118267. Citation on PubMed or Free article on PubMed Central
  • Becker MA, Taylor W, Smith PR, Ahmed M. Overexpression of the normal phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase 1 isoform underlies catalytic superactivity of human phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase. J Biol Chem. 1996 Aug 16;271(33):19894-9. doi: 10.1074/jbc.271.33.19894. Citation on PubMed
  • de Brouwer AP, van Bokhoven H, Nabuurs SB, Arts WF, Christodoulou J, Duley J. PRPS1 mutations: four distinct syndromes and potential treatment. Am J Hum Genet. 2010 Apr 9;86(4):506-18. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2010.02.024. Citation on PubMed or Free article on PubMed Central
  • de Brouwer AP, Williams KL, Duley JA, van Kuilenburg AB, Nabuurs SB, Egmont-Petersen M, Lugtenberg D, Zoetekouw L, Banning MJ, Roeffen M, Hamel BC, Weaving L, Ouvrier RA, Donald JA, Wevers RA, Christodoulou J, van Bokhoven H. Arts syndrome is caused by loss-of-function mutations in PRPS1. Am J Hum Genet. 2007 Sep;81(3):507-18. doi: 10.1086/520706. Epub 2007 Aug 3. Citation on PubMed or Free article on PubMed Central
  • de Brouwer APM, Christodoulou J. Phosphoribosylpyrophosphate Synthetase Deficiency. 2008 Oct 21 [updated 2023 Jun 8]. In: Adam MP, Feldman J, Mirzaa GM, Pagon RA, Wallace SE, Amemiya A, editors. GeneReviews(R) [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2025. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2591/ Citation on PubMed
  • de Brouwer APM, Christodoulou J. Phosphoribosylpyrophosphate Synthetase Superactivity. 2008 Sep 23 [updated 2022 Feb 17]. In: Adam MP, Feldman J, Mirzaa GM, Pagon RA, Wallace SE, Amemiya A, editors. GeneReviews(R) [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2025. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1973/ Citation on PubMed
  • Kim HJ, Sohn KM, Shy ME, Krajewski KM, Hwang M, Park JH, Jang SY, Won HH, Choi BO, Hong SH, Kim BJ, Suh YL, Ki CS, Lee SY, Kim SH, Kim JW. Mutations in PRPS1, which encodes the phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase enzyme critical for nucleotide biosynthesis, cause hereditary peripheral neuropathy with hearing loss and optic neuropathy (cmtx5). Am J Hum Genet. 2007 Sep;81(3):552-8. doi: 10.1086/519529. Epub 2007 Jun 29. Citation on PubMed or Free article on PubMed Central
  • Kim JW, Kim HJ. Charcot-Marie-Tooth Neuropathy X Type 5 - RETIRED CHAPTER, FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCE ONLY. 2008 Aug 26 [updated 2013 Jun 6]. In: Adam MP, Feldman J, Mirzaa GM, Pagon RA, Wallace SE, Amemiya A, editors. GeneReviews(R) [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2025. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1876/ Citation on PubMed
  • Liu XZ, Xie D, Yuan HJ, de Brouwer AP, Christodoulou J, Yan D. Hearing loss and PRPS1 mutations: Wide spectrum of phenotypes and potential therapy. Int J Audiol. 2013 Jan;52(1):23-8. doi: 10.3109/14992027.2012.736032. Epub 2012 Nov 28. Citation on PubMed or Free article on PubMed Central
  • Mittal R, Patel K, Mittal J, Chan B, Yan D, Grati M, Liu XZ. Association of PRPS1 Mutations with Disease Phenotypes. Dis Markers. 2015;2015:127013. doi: 10.1155/2015/127013. Epub 2015 May 24. Citation on PubMed or Free article on PubMed Central
  • Nyhan WL. Disorders of purine and pyrimidine metabolism. Mol Genet Metab. 2005 Sep-Oct;86(1-2):25-33. doi: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2005.07.027. Citation on PubMed
  • Zheng M, Ma JW. Research progress in the genetics of hyperuricaemia and gout. Yi Chuan. 2016 Apr;38(4):300-13. doi: 10.16288/j.yczz.15-385. Citation on PubMed

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