Deoxycytidine Triphosphate Unit Converter

Deoxycytidine triphosphate (dCTP) is one of the four nucleotide building blocks your cells use to construct and repair DNA. It supplies the cytosine base during DNA replication.

Cells maintain a tightly regulated pool of dCTP alongside the other three deoxynucleotide triphosphates (dATP, dGTP, and dTTP). The balance among these four pools is critical for accurate DNA copying. Even modest imbalances can increase the rate of DNA mutations and compromise genome stability.

This test measures the concentration of dCTP, typically in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, to assess nucleotide metabolism. It is a specialized marker most often ordered in the context of mitochondrial disorders, hematologic conditions, or pharmacology research.

dCTP is produced inside cells through two routes: the de novo pathway, where ribonucleotide reductase converts cytidine diphosphate into its deoxy form, which is then phosphorylated to dCTP; and the salvage pathway, where deoxycytidine kinase recycles free deoxycytidine from DNA breakdown or dietary intake back into dCTP.