Purinosomes and Purine Metabolism in Mammalian Neural Development: A Review

Neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) in specific brain regions require precisely regulated metabolite production during critical development periods. Purines—vital components of DNA, RNA, and energy carriers like ATP and GTP—are crucial metabolites in brain development. Purine levels are tightly controlled through two pathways: de novo synthesis and salvage synthesis. Enzymes driving de novo pathway are assembled into a large multienzyme complex termed the “purinosome.” Here, we review purine metabolism and purinosomes as spatiotemporal regulators of neural development. Notably, around postnatal day 0 (P0) during mouse cortical development, purine synthesis transitions from the de novo pathway to the salvage pathway. Inhibiting the de novo pathway affects mTORC1 pathway and leads to specific forebrain malformations. In this review, we also explore the importance of protein-protein interactions of a newly identified NSPC protein—NACHT and WD repeat domain-containing 1 (Nwd1)—in purinosome formation. Reduced Nwd1 expression disrupts purinosome formation, impacting NSPC proliferation and neuronal migration, resulting in periventricular heterotopia. Nwd1 interacts directly with phosphoribosylaminoimidazole–succinocarboxamide synthetase (PAICS), an enzyme involved in de novo purine synthesis. We anticipate this review will be valuable for researchers investigating neural development, purine metabolism, and protein-protein interactions.