Description
Ecto-5-prime-nucleotidase (5-prime-ribonucleotide phosphohydrolase; EC 3.1.3.5) catalyzes the conversion at neutral pH of purine 5-prime mononucleotides to nucleosides, the preferred substrate being AMP. The enzyme consists of a dimer of 2 identical 70-kD subunits bound by a glycosyl phosphatidyl inositol linkage to the external face of the plasma membrane. The enzyme is used as a marker of lymphocyte differentiation. Consequently, a deficiency of NT5 occurs in a variety of immunodeficiency diseases. Other forms of 5-prime nucleotidase exist in the cytoplasm and lysosomes and can be distinguished from ecto-NT5 by their substrate affinities, requirement for divalent magnesium ion, activation by ATP, and inhibition by inorganic phosphate.
