This gene belongs to the Nudix (nucleoside diphosphate linked moiety X) hydrolase superfamily. The encoded enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of modified nucleoside diphosphates, including ADP-ribose (ADPR) and 8-oxoGua-containing 8-oxo-dADP and 8-oxo-dGDP. Protein-bound ADP ribose can be hazardous to the cell because it can modify some amino acid residues, resulting in the inhibition of ATP-activated potassium channels. 8-oxoGua is an oxidized form of guanine that can potentially alter genetic information by pairing with adenine and cytosine in RNA. Presence of 8-oxoGua in RNA results in formation of abnormal proteins due to translational errors. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2013]
Forensic Context
A longitudinal mRNA expression analysis in post-mortem human blood samples demonstrated that the NUDT5 gene, which encodes an enzyme acting as an ADP-sugar pyrophosphatase or catalyzing ATP synthesis, was included in a down-regulated expression cluster and was utilized as a predictor with a negative coefficient in a generalized linear model for post-mortem interval (PMI) estimation [Antiga et al. DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-96095-z]. This model, developed using an elastic net restriction, achieved a root mean square error of 4.75 hours in cross-validation, indicating its potential application for PMI prediction in forensic investigations.