In: Anatomy and Physiology
for nucleic acids, where is it meaningfully digested in humans?what is the enzyme used to break it down?
Nucleic acid is predominantly digested in the small intestine. Although, stomach can also depurinate DNA, the major digestion and absorption occurs in the small intestine. High acidity of stomach can break the phosphodiester bonds especially at the Apurinic sites. It has been suggested that pepsin can also cause nucleic acid digestion in stomach. But this is a relatively small amount of nucleic acid digestion.
In the small intestine, nucleic acids RNA and DNA are cleaved by nucleases secreted by pancreas. Ribonuclease will break down RNA, while deoxy ribonuclease will break down DNA. The products of these reactions are mononucleotides. Phosphatases which are present in intestine and called nucleotidases will then hydrolyze mononucleotides to mononucleosides. Brush border nucleosidase and phosphatase will break down nucleosides to pentose sugar, phosphate and nitrogenous bases.
Pancreatic Nucleases are enzymes that digest nucleic acid to nucleotides in the small intestine.