Nucleoside triphosphate 848862 194335642 2008-02-27T03:13:29Z 128.84.63.0 {{unreferenced|date=February 2007}} '''Nucleoside triphosphate''' (NTP) is a [[nucleoside]] with three [[phosphate]]s. Natural nucleoside triphosphates include [[adenosine triphosphate]] (ATP), [[guanosine triphosphate]] (GTP), [[cytidine triphosphate]] (CTP), [[thymidine triphosphate]] (TTP) and [[uridine triphosphate]] (UTP). These terms refer to those nucleotide triphosphates that contain ribose. The nucleotide triphosphates containing deoxyribose take prefix deoxy- in their names and small d- in their abbreviations: [[deoxyadenosine triphosphate]] (dATP), [[deoxyguanosine triphosphate]] (dGTP), [[deoxycytidine triphosphate]] (dCTP), [[deoxythimidine triphosphate]] (dTTP) and [[deoxyuridine triphosphate]]. Check the entry [[nucleotide]] for table and description of these compounds. Apart from (d)ATP, (d)GTP, (d)CTP, (d)TTP and (d)UTP, there are other less abundant NTPs, such as intermediates of nucleotide metabolism, but also "rare" natural nucleotides or even [[artificial nucleotides]]. [[Nucleotide]] derivatives are of unparalleled importance for current natural life forms, as they are building blocks of [[nucleic acid]]s and have thousands of other roles in cell metabolism and regulation. ATP is a major source of cellular energy. GTP is a very frequent cofactor of enzymes and proteins. NTPs generally provide energy and phosphate group for phosphorylations. Generally [[nucleoside]]s are [[nucleotide]]s (e.g. adenine, guanine, cytosine...) that lack phosphates. However, for the sake of technical terminology, nucleotides are given classifications as nucleosides with a suffix describing the number of phosphates present in a specific unit. For example, if a nucleotide has one phosphate, it is a nucleoside monophosphate (NMP). If the nucleotide has two phosphates, then it is called a nucleoside diphosphate (NDP), and for three, it is a nucleoside triphosphate (NTP). The nucleotides that contain a [[ribose]] sugar are the monomers of [[RNA]] and those that contain a [[deoxyribose]] sugar compose [[DNA]]. NTPs, NDPs and NMPs are ubiquitous in cell cytoplasm, nucleus and organelles. Given their multifarious functions, their levels are under fairly tight metabolic control. Most of the discussion on mutual ratios of nucleotides should belong under entry [[nucleotide]], but concentrating strictly on the abundance of the triphosphorylated versions, we find that ATP spending is replenished by [[oxidative phosphorylation]], while phosphorylation status of other nucleotides is regulated by [[NDP kinase]]s (EC 2.7.4.6) and [[NMP kinase]]s (EC 2.7.4.9) that use ATP pool as their cross-phosphorylation source. {{Biochem-stub}} [[Category:Nucleic acids]] [[Category:Nucleotides]] [[de:Nukleosidtriphosphate]] [[it:Nucleoside trifosfato]] [[uk:Нуклеозидтрифосфат]] [[zh:核苷三磷酸]]