Molecular characterization of N-acetylaspartylglutamate synthetase.

Striatal N-Acetylaspartate Synthetase Shati/Nat8l Regulates Depression-Like Behaviors via mGluR3-Mediated Serotonergic Suppression in Mice

Background Several clinical studies have suggested that N-acetylaspartate and N-acetylaspartylglutamate levels in the human brain are associated with various psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder. We have previously identified Shati/Nat8l, an N-acetyltransferase, in the brain using an animal model of psychosis. Shati/Nat8l synthesizes N-acetylaspartate from L-aspartate and ...

Biochemical and molecular analysis of glutamine synthetase gene in brassica napus L.

Differential distribution of N-acetylaspartylglutamate and N-acetylaspartate immunoreactivities in rat forebrain.

Contradictory immunohistochemical data have been reported on the localization of N-acetylaspartylglutamate in the rat forebrain, using different carbodiimide fixation protocols and antibody purification methods. In one case, N-acetylaspartylglutamate immunoreactivity was observed in apparent interneurons throughout all allocortical and isocortical regions, suggesting possible colocalization wit...

N-Acetylaspartylglutamate: possible role as the neurotransmitter of the lateral olfactory tract.

N-Acetylaspartylglutamate, an endogenous brain peptide that binds with high affinity to a subpopulation of glutamate-binding sites in rat brain, is excitatory on rat piriform cortex pyramidal cells studied in a perfused brain slice. Both the monosynaptic excitation of the pyramidal cells elicited by stimulation of the lateral olfactory tract and the response to N-acetylaspartylglutamate were bl...

Extracellular N-acetylaspartylglutamate released in the nucleus accumbens modulates the pain sensation: Analysis using a microdialysis/mass spectrometry integrated system

Various small molecules act as neurotransmitters and orchestrate neural communication. Growing evidence suggests that not only classical neurotransmitters but also several small molecules, including amino acid derivatives, modulate synaptic transmission. As conditions of acute and chronic pain alter neuronal excitability in the nucleus accumbens, we hypothesized that small molecules released in...