Glutamic acid, excitatory
Glutamic acid (or by loss of a proton, glutamate), by inducing calcium and sodium penetration in cell, has depolarizing and excitatory effects.
It is a nonessential amino acid because it can be synthesized in the body, present in brain where it is obtained from alpha-cetoglutaric acid, under influence of glutamate deshydrogenase, N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate and aspartic acid.
N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate is transformed into glutamic acid by a peptidase whose activity is increased during certain neurological diseases. The inhibition of this enzyme could be of therapeutic interest.
It is also a precursor of GABA and by its conversion into glutamine participates in detoxification of ammonia.
Glutamate released in the synaptic cleft is mainly reuptaken by presynaptic terminations and by glial tissue by different transporters.
Metabolism of glutamic acid
|
