The dNTP triphosphohydrolase SAMHD1 is a
nuclear antiviral host restriction factor limiting
HIV-1 infection in macrophages and a major
regulator of dNTP concentrations in human cells.
In normal human fibroblasts its expression
increases during quiescence, contributing to the
small dNTP pool sizes of these cells.
Downregulation of SAMHD1 by siRNA expands
all four dNTP pools with dGTP undergoing the
largest relative increase. The deoxyguanosine
released by SAMHD1 from dGTP can be
phosphorylated inside mitochondria by
deoxyguanosine kinase (dGK) or degraded in the
cytosol by purine nucleoside phosphorylase.
Genetic mutations of dGK cause mitochondrial
(mt) DNA depletion in noncycling cells and
hepato-cerebral mtDNA depletion syndrome in
humans. We studied if SAMHD1 and dGK
interact in the regulation of the dGTP pool
during quiescence employing dGK-mutated skin
fibroblasts derived from three unrelated patients.
In the presence of SAMHD1 quiescent mutant
fibroblasts manifested mt dNTP pool imbalance
and mtDNA depletion. When SAMHD1 was
silenced by siRNA transfection the composition
of the mt dNTP pool approached that of the
controls and mtDNA copy number increased,
compensating the depletion to various degrees in
the different mutant fibroblasts. Chemical
inhibition of purine nucleoside phosphorylase
did not improve deoxyguanosine recycling by
dGK in wt cells. We conclude that the activity of
SAMHD1 contributes to the pathological
phenotype of dGK deficiency. Our results prove
the importance of SAMHD1 in the regulation of
all dNTP pools and suggest that dGK inside
mitochondria has the function of recycling the
deoxyguanosine derived from endogenous dGTP
degraded by SAMHD1 in the nucleus.