NYMC Faculty Publications

Imine Reductases: A Comparison of Glutamate Dehydrogenase to Ketimine Reductases in the Brain

Author Type(s)

Faculty

DOI

10.1007/s11064-012-0964-1

Journal Title

Neurochemical Research

First Page

527

Last Page

541

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2014

Department

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Keywords

Animals, Brain, Glutamate Dehydrogenase, Humans, Imines, Nitriles, Oxidoreductases, Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-NH Group Donors

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

Abstract

A key intermediate in the glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH)-catalyzed reaction is an imine. Mechanistically, therefore, GDH exhibits similarities to the ketimine reductases. In the current review, we briefly discuss (a) the metabolic importance of the GDH reaction in liver and brain, (b) the mechanistic similarities between GDH and the ketimine reductases, (c) the metabolic importance of the brain ketimine reductases, and (d) the neurochemical consequences of defective ketimine reductases. Our review contains many historical references to the early work on amino acid metabolism. This work tends to be overlooked nowadays, but is crucial for a contemporary understanding of the central importance of ketimines in nitrogen and intermediary metabolism. The ketimine reductases are important enzymes linking nitrogen flow among several key amino acids, yet have been little studied. The cerebral importance of the ketimine reductases is an area of biomedical research that deserves far more attention.

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS