Guanosine Unit Converter

Guanosine is a purine nucleoside made up of the base guanine attached to a ribose sugar. It is one of the building blocks of RNA and plays a central role in purine metabolism.

In the body, the enzyme purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) breaks guanosine down into guanine and ribose-1-phosphate. When PNP is absent or reduced, guanosine accumulates in blood and urine. Measuring guanosine levels helps detect disorders of purine metabolism, most notably PNP deficiency.

Guanosine also functions as a neuromodulator in the brain, where it is released by astrocytes and contributes to cell signaling and neuroprotection.

Guanosine is produced throughout the body as a normal byproduct of DNA and RNA turnover, and through de novo purine synthesis. In the brain, astrocytes release guanosine as a signaling molecule. Dietary purines from foods such as organ meats, certain fish, and beer also contribute to circulating guanosine levels.