N-acetyl-L-glutamate in brain: assay, levels, and regional and subcellular distribution.

N-Acetyl-L-glutamate (NAG), the activator of mitochondrial carbamoyl phosphate synthetase (CPS), is demonstrated by several methods, including a new HPLC assay, in the brain of mammals and of chicken. The brain levels of NAG are 200-300 times lower than the levels of N-acetyl-L-aspartate (NAA), and are similar to the levels of NAG in rat liver. The NAG levels in chicken liver are very low. Although NAG is mitochondrial in the liver, it is cytosolic in brain. Using enzyme activity and immuno assays we did not detect CPS in brain (detection limit, 12.5 micrograms/g brain), excluding that brain NAG is involved in citrullinogenesis. The regional distribution of brain NAG differs from that of NAA and resembles that of N-acetyl-L-aspartyl-L-glutamate (NAAG), suggesting that NAG and NAAG are related. NAG might be involved in the modulation of NAAG degradation.