title: Glutaminases.
abstract: Mammalian glutaminases catalyze the stoichiometric conversion of L-glutamine to L-glutamate and ammonium ions. In brain, glutaminase is considered the prevailing pathway for synthesis of the neurotransmitter pool of glutamate. Besides neurotransmission, the products of glutaminase reaction also fulfill crucial roles in energy and metabolic homeostasis in mammalian brain. In the last years, new functional roles for brain glutaminases are being uncovered by using functional genomic and proteomic approaches. Glutaminases may act as multifunctional proteins able to perform different tasks: the discovery of multiple transcript variants in neurons and glial cells, novel extramitochondrial localizations, and isoform-specific proteininteracting partners strongly support possible moonlighting functions for these proteins. In this chapter, we present a critical account of essential works on brain glutaminase 80 years after its discovery. We will highlight the impact of recent findings and thoughts in the context of the glutamate/glutamine brain homeostasis.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica, Canceromics Lab, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, 29071, Spain. marquez@uma.es.|Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain. marquez@uma.es.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Márquez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica, Canceromics Lab, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, 29071, Spain.|Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Matés
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica, Canceromics Lab, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, 29071, Spain.|Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Campos-Sandoval
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005972:Glutaminase / Q000378:metabolism*; D005973:Glutamine / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D040901:Proteomics; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D005973:Glutamine; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D005972:Glutaminase
keywords: Astrocytes; Glutamate; Glutaminase-interacting proteins; Glutamine; Neurons