The enzyme is involved in the synthesis of nucleotides (purines and pyrimidines), cofactors NAD and NADP, and amino acidshistidine and tryptophan,[1][2][3] linking these biosynthetic processes to the pentose phosphate pathway, from which the substrate ribose 5-phosphate is derived. Ribose 5-phosphate is produced by the HMP Shunt Pathway from Glucose-6-Phosphate. The product phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate acts as an essential component of the purine salvage pathway and the de novo synthesis of purines. Dysfunction of the enzyme would thereby undermine purine metabolism. Ribose-phosphate pyrophosphokinase exists in bacteria, plants, and animals, and there are three isoforms of human ribose-phosphate pyrophosphokinase.[2] In humans, the genes encoding the enzyme are located on the X chromosome.[2]
