Abstract:Purine metabolism, traditionally considered in the context of uric acid synthesis and gout pathogenesis, is, in our opinion, a more fundamental regulatory system. We propose the concept of the "Purine Switch", according to which the state of purine catabolism determines the biochemical landscape common to pathologies considered etiologically different. acting as signaling molecules (DAMPs), they trigger inflammation, and as metabolites, they can serve as a resource for the replication of viruses (for example, herpesviruses) and the proliferation of bacteria. This concept provides a new explanation for the structural relationship and cross-logic of the action of drugs such as allopurinol and acyclovir. As a next step, we present an approach based on biomimetic catalysts ("synzymes"), which do not block individual enzymes, but catalytically redirect the flow of purine catabolism, carrying out "metabolic sanitation" of the pathological focus. This approach opens up the prospect of creating a new class of universal therapeutic agents.