Nucleosides are glycosylamines made by attaching a nucleobase (often referred to simply as bases) to a ribose or deoxyribose ring. Examples of these include cytidine, uridine, adenosine, guanosine, thymidine and inosine.

Nucleosides can be phosphorylated by specific kinases in the cell, producing nucleotides, which are the molecular building blocks of DNA and RNA.

Nucleosides are produced as the second step in nucleic acid digestion, when nucleotidases break down nucleotides (such as the thymine nucleotide) into nucleosides (such as thymidine) and phosphate. The nucleosides, in turn, are subsequently broken down:

- in the lumen of the digestive system by nucleosidases into nitrogenous bases and ribose (or deoxyribose).

- inside the cell by nucleoside phosphorylases into nitrogenous bases, and ribose-1-phosphate (or deoxyribose-1-phosphate).

See also

• Nucleobase
• Nucleotide
• DNA
• RNA
• Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

Nucleosides Note: Nucleosides can be produced by combining nucleobases with deoxyribose rings as well.

Nukleoside | Νουκλεοζίτης | Nucleósido | Nucléoside | Nukleosida | Nucleoside | Nukleozidas | Nukleozid | Nucleoside | ヌクレオシド | Nukleozyd | Nukleosidi