Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government
Español
Government Funding Lapse
Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.

The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit cc.nih.gov.

Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov.

adenine

(A-deh-neen)
A chemical compound that is used to make one of the building blocks of DNA and RNA. It is also a part of many substances in the body that give energy to cells. Adenine is a type of purine.
Structure of DNA; drawing shows a chromosome, nucleosome, histone, gene, and nucleotide base pairs: guanine, cytosine, adenine, and thymine. Also shown is a cell and its nucleus.Enlarge this image in new window
Structure of DNA. Most DNA is found inside the nucleus of a cell, where it forms the chromosomes. Chromosomes have proteins called histones that bind to DNA. DNA has two strands that twist into the shape of a spiral ladder called a helix. DNA is made up of four building blocks called nucleotides: adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C). The nucleotides attach to each other (A with T, and G with C) to form chemical bonds called base pairs, which connect the two DNA strands. Genes are short pieces of DNA that carry specific genetic information.
Search NCI's Dictionary of Cancer Terms