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title: NAAG
disqus: hackmd
---
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> Documentation [name=MrDr.Staffan]
###### tags: `NAAG`

### Table of Contents
[TOC]
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[Top](#Table-of-Contents)

*Why this page?*
Beacuse there seems to be no enzyme preforming this enzymatic reaction. So this in theory could be a non-enzymatic reaction - [See NERs.](https://hackmd.io/@sholmqvist/BJpKurTBB/%2FCvHPegKwTWO9O3KNrjkxdQ)

This with aspa and NAAG is interesting. Seemingly it may be a non-enzymatic reaction. This would make perfect sense from my perspective. Asparate needs to be sequestered and rid off. i.e. when acetyl is available, and there is excess of glutamate, then these are allowed to be clumped togheter (making them inaccessible for the m.c.). Aspartate must be ridicoulously difficult to get rid of for a cell. Due to its close similarity to glutamate.

We tend to forget that the export of glutamate, likely is parallelled by export of aspartic acid. And the solute carriers taking it up, also cant distinguish. I.e. Slc1a3.

The more anaplerotic glutamate is then shuttled back as glutamine, in a nitrogen feedback to neurons. Not sure if neurons need this amine or not.

[See Neurodegenerative disease](https://hackmd.io/@sholmqvist/BJpKurTBB/%2FosX3fSkwR0WGGV93VSj1Sg)

# NAA
NAA is the second-most-concentrated molecule in the brain after the amino acid glutamate.

NAA gives off the largest signal in magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the human brain.

# NAAG
**N-acetylaspartylglutamate or NAAG**
NAAG synthetase activity mediates the biosynthesis of NAAG from glutamate and NAA, but little is known about the mechanism or regulation of this enzyme, and no NAAG synthetase activity has been isolated in cell-free preparations

N-acetylaspartylglutamate or NAAG

# Formation
Is is formed non-enzymatically. Purely if these are present at high enough concentration.

[Check the levels of Asp, Acetyl-, and Glutamate in neurons. in mM]

# Canavan disease
"Most common pediatric neurodegenerative disease"

A disease of ASPA deficiency in oligos.

Could it be that oligos want:
either or all.

1. Acetyl? no!
2. Aspartate? Not likely. Why?
3. Glutmate, quite likely *for some reason*