title: The nagging question of the function of N-acetylaspartylglutamate.
abstract: N-Acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) is a neuropeptide found in millimolar concentrations in brain that is localized to subpopulations of glutamatergic, cholinergic, GABAergic, and noradrenergic neuronal systems. NAAG is released upon depolarization by a Ca(2+)-dependent process and is an agonist at mGluR3 receptors and an antagonist at NMDA receptors. NAAG is catabolized to N-acetylaspartate and glutamate primarily by glutamate carboxypeptidase II, which is expressed on the extracellular surface of astrocytes. The levels of NAAG and the activity of carboxypeptidase II are altered in a regionally specific fashion in several neuropsychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts 02178, USA. jcoyle@warren.med.harvard.edu
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Coyle
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D002268:Carboxypeptidases / Q000378:metabolism; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000378:metabolism; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D004151:Dipeptides; D007527:Isoenzymes; C027172:isospaglumic acid; D002268:Carboxypeptidases; C026134:glutamate carboxypeptidase