Uric acid and evolution

Uric acid (UA) is the end product of purine metabolism in humans due to the loss of uricase activity by various mutations of its gene during the Miocene epoch, which led to humans having higher UA levels than other mammals. Furthermore, 90% of UA filtered by the kidneys is reabsorbed, instead of bei...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Rheumatology (Oxford, England) England), 2010-11, Vol.49 (11), p.2010-2015
Main Authors: Álvarez-Lario, Bonifacio, Macarrón-Vicente, Jesús
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Antioxidants
Antioxidants - metabolism
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Evolution
Diseases of the osteoarticular system
Evolution
Gout
Humans
Hyperuricaemia
Inflammatory joint diseases
Medical sciences
Metabolic diseases
Miscellaneous. Osteoarticular involvement in other diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases
Neuroprotection
Neuroprotective Agents - metabolism
Other metabolic disorders
Oxidative stress
Primates
Purines - metabolism
Purines and pyrimidines (gout, hyperuricemia...)
Salt ingestion
Urate Oxidase - metabolism
Uric acid
Uric Acid - metabolism
Uricase
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Summary:Uric acid (UA) is the end product of purine metabolism in humans due to the loss of uricase activity by various mutations of its gene during the Miocene epoch, which led to humans having higher UA levels than other mammals. Furthermore, 90% of UA filtered by the kidneys is reabsorbed, instead of being excreted. These facts suggest that evolution and physiology have not treated UA as a harmful waste product, but as something beneficial that has to be kept. This has led various researchers to think about the possible evolutionary advantages of the loss of uricase and the subsequent increase in UA levels. It has been argued that due to the powerful antioxidant activity of UA, the evolutionary benefit could be the increased life expectancy of hominids. For other authors, the loss of uricase and the increase in UA could be a mechanism to maintain blood pressure in times of very low salt ingestion. The oldest hypothesis associates the increase in UA with higher intelligence in humans. Finally, UA has protective effects against several neurodegenerative diseases, suggesting it could have interesting actions on neuronal development and function. These hypotheses are discussed from an evolutionary perspective and their clinical significance. UA has some obvious harmful effects, and some, not so well-known, beneficial effects as an antioxidant and neuroprotector.
ISSN:1462-0324
1462-0332
DOI:10.1093/rheumatology/keq204