Why Is Hprt a Housekeeping Gene?

HPRT is a housekeeping enzyme involved in recycling guanine and inosine in the purine salvage pathway. As a housekeeping gene, HPRT has been widely used as an endogenous control for molecular studies evaluating changes in gene expression.

What is the function of HPRT?

The hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) assay uses cultured human somatic cells to detect mutagenic agents. The normal function of HPRT in cells is to recycle nucleotide bases from degraded DNA.

What is considered housekeeping gene?

Housekeeping genes are those genes that are always expressed because they code for proteins that are constantly required by the cell, hence, they are essential to a cell and always present under any conditions. ... Examples of housekeeping genes include actin, GAPDH and ubiquitin.

James H. Sterling

James H. Sterling

Environmental Science & Climate Journalist

James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.