Glutamine

Glutamine is an amino acid found in proteins. In mammals, glutamine is a non-essential amino acid, meaning it does not need to be present in the diet. Glutamine is classified as an amide because it is an amide derivative of glutamic acid (Reaction 1 below). Glutamine is a very important compound in transamination reactions.

Reactions involving glutamine:

> 1. -Ketoglutarate + Glutamine + NADPH + H+ <=> 2 Glutamate + NADP+ (Catalyzed by Glutamate Synthase)

> 2. Fructose-6-Phosphate + Glutamine <=> Glucosamine-6-Phosphate + Glutamate (catalyzed by Glutamine:Fructose-6-Phosphate Amidotransferase)

> 3. UTP + ATP + Glutamine <=> CTP + ADP + Glutamate + Pi (catalyzed by CTP Synthetase)

> 4. Glutamate + NH 3 + ATP -> Glutamine + ADP + Pi (catalyzed by Glutamine Synthetase)

One Letter Code | Three Letter Code | Molecular Wt. (Daltons) | Genetic Code Codons
Q | GLN | 128.14 | CAA, CAG

See also: Table 5.1, Amino Acids, Genetic Code, Transamination in Amino Acid Metabolism (from Chapter 20), Utilization of Ammonia (from Chapter 20), Transamination of Citric Acid Cycle Intermediates, Essential Amino Acids