The metabolic conversion of the carbon chain of lysine-6-C 14 to glutamic acid, aspartic acid and arginine

Abstract

1. 1. dl-Lysine-6-C 14 has been fed to intact dogs, and the amino acids lysine, arginine, glutamic acid, and aspartic acid have been isolated from the liver and plasma proteins. 2. 2. The chemical degradation of the isolated radioactive glutamic acid points to the lysine carbon chain both as a direct precursor via glutarate and as an indirect precursor via acetate. 3. 3. The nature of a likely five-carbon intermediate in the metabolic breakdown of lysine such as glutarate or α-gketolutarate as the common precursor of glutamic acid and arginine (i.e., ornithine), is discussed.