Effects of anaerobiosis on adenine nucleotide levels and the release of ATP by Leishmania major promastigotes

1. 1. Leishmania major promastigotes showed a large decrease in ATP and increases in ADP and AMP contents after 4 min of anaerobiosis. 2. 2. When ADP was added to intact promastigotes, it was completely metabolized, apparently by its conversion to adenosine extracellularly followed by adenosine uptake, further metabolism intracellularly, and release of hypoxanthine. Under anaerobic conditions, adenosine uptake was strongly inhibited and ADP degradation was stopped at adenosine. 3. 3. Under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, ATP was released into the medium. ATP release was specific, since ADP and AMP were not detectable extracellularly even when their external degradation was inhibited with molybdate.