The metabolism of glutaric acid-3-C14 by the intact rat.

Glutaric acid has been shown to be an intermediate in the mammalian catabolism of lysine (1). Two routes have been proposed for the degradation of glutaric acid (2-5). One pathway yields acetate, and the other involves a direct conversion to the carbon chain of ac-ketoglutarate. In an effort to assess the relative importance of each pathway, we have studied the metabolism of glutaric acid-3-Cl4 in intact rats. The labeling patterns found in isolated glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and alanine are not compatible with a conversion to the carbon chain of cY-ketoglutarate and indicate that glutarate is metabolized exclusively via acetate.