Glutamine is a nonessential amino acid and is the most abundant amino acid in the body. It is formed from glutamate using the enzyme glutamine synthetase.
Approximately 80% of glutamine is found in the skeletal muscle, and this concentration is 30 times higher than the amount of glutamine found in human plasma. Although glucose is used as fuel for many tissues in the body, glutamine is the main fuel source for a large number of cells including lymphocytes, neutrophils, macrophages, and enterocytes.
Glutamine is necessary for many physiologic processes including:
- growth of fibroblasts, lymphocytes, and enterocytes
- protein synthesis
- mitosis
- muscle growth
- immune function
- glutathione formation
- nucleotide synthesis
- apoptosis prevention
- regulation of acid-base homeostasis
- glutamate metabolism
- inter-organ nitrogen exchange via ammonia transport
- gluconeogenesis
- energy generation (ATP)
GLUTAMINE
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