malate-aspartate shuttle
The definitions used in this glossary of terminology either have been provided by the authors of the articles, or have been extracted wholly or in part, or paraphrased from the following sources: The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, Charles B. Clayman, MD, Medical Editor, Random House, New York, 1989; Biotechnology from A to Z, 2d Edition, William Bains, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; A Dictionary of Genetics, 6th Edition, Robert C. King and William D. Stansfield, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 29th and 30th Editions, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 2000, 2003; Genes VII, Benjamin Lewin, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2000; The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, Volumes I and II, Stacey L. Blachford, Ed., Thomson Learning, New York, New York, 2002; The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts, 1997; Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3rd Edition, Bruce Alberts, et al., Garland Publishing, 1994; The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition, 1966; Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1991.
DEFINITION:
- malate-aspartate shuttle
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A mechanism for transferring electrons into mitochondria from the cytosol of red fibers of skeletal muscle, heart, and the brain, involving cytosolic and mitochondrial forms of the enzymes malate dehydrogenase and aspartate transaminase, and two transmembrane carriers. Electrons from cytosolic NADH are used to reduce oxaloacetate to malate, which enters the mitochondrial matrix and donates electrons to NAD+, becoming reoxidized to oxaloacetate. To return to the cytosol, oxaloacetate is first transaminated to form aspartate, which can traverse the membrane; once in the cytosol it is deaminated to oxaloacetate.
Used in 2 Term definitions
Used in 2 Term definitions