Branched-chain aminotransferase (BCAT)
Cofactors used
What it does, reaction by reaction
Amino Acid Catabolism Overview (glucogenic vs. ketogenic amino acids; brief overview of branched-chain amino acid catabolism and phenylalanine/tyrosine catabolism as representative examples) Amino Acid & Nitrogen Metabolism · Cytosol + mitochondrion
Leucine/isoleucine/valine + α-ketoglutarate ⇌ their respective branched-chain α-keto acids + glutamate
Converts Alpha-ketoglutarate into Glutamate
› Notes
BCAT catalyzes the PLP-dependent, reversible first step of BCAA catabolism, mainly in extrahepatic tissues such as skeletal muscle. Leucine yields α-ketoisocaproate, isoleucine yields α-keto-β-methylvalerate, and valine yields α-ketoisovalerate.
Transamination Amino Acid & Nitrogen Metabolism · Cytosol + mitochondrion
Branched-chain amino acid + α-ketoglutarate ⇌ branched-chain α-keto acid + L-glutamate
Converts Alpha-ketoglutarate into Glutamate
› Notes
Branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase (BCAT; PLP-dependent) initiates leucine, isoleucine, and valine catabolism. This reaction is prominent in skeletal muscle, which expresses BCAT but has relatively little hepatic BCAT activity.
Showing all 2 reactions.
What accelerates and inhibits it
Regulation is pathway-specific, so each context is listed separately
No regulation recorded for this enzyme in the source documents.
Recent literature
Europe PMC · from cache · sorted by publication date
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1
<i>Akkermansia muciniphila</i> protects diabetes-associated cognitive decline by enhancing leucine catabolism and suppressing neuronal excessive mitophagy.
Ye X, Cai Q, Li Y, You M, Chen J, Pan Y, Zhu M, Lu Z, Chen S, Lin Y, Zhang W, Liu X, Wang Z, Hong G, Wu W, Zh… · 2026-09-30
open access unreviewed -
2
<i>Akkermansia muciniphila</i>'s <i>nifJ</i> gene enhances colostrum sIgA synthesis by branched-chain amino acid degradation to branched short-chain fatty acids.
Wu D, Li F, Xiong W, Huang Z, Ma K, Huang J, Cai S, Deng J, Peng J, Xia X, Tan C. · 2026-01-29
open access unreviewed -
3
Human brown fat metabolism associates with systemic branched-chain amino acids homeostasis.
U-Din M, Acosta FM, Saari T, de Mello Laaksonen VD, van der Kolk BW, Monfort-Pires M, Clemente-Postigo M, Nie… · 2026-08-26
open access unreviewed -
4
Identification of key genes and mechanistic exploration of metabolic reprogramming in osteoporosis.
He Y, Shi C, Yu X, Wang A. · 2026-09-28
unreviewed -
5
Microbiota-Associated Amino Acid Metabolites in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Emerging Key Players in the Host-Microbe Interface.
Meng X, Tian C, Zhu Y, Zheng D. · 2026-09-20
open access unreviewed -
6
Beyond Translation Initiation: Translational Elongation, Decoding Fidelity, and Ribosome Surveillance During Branched-Chain Amino Acid Deprivation, with a Focus on Mammalian Systems.
Ojima M, Matsuura M, Deguchi M, Kim DH. · 2026-09-16
open access unreviewed -
7
The Role of Branched-Chain Amino Acids in Nutrient Allocation of the Porcine Placenta: A Review.
Bai J, Wang Y, Li X, Li J, Wu Z, Li X, Wang K, Qiao R, Fu T, Li Y. · 2026-09-10
open access unreviewed -
8
Amino Acid Metabolism in Health and Disease.
Su Z, Liu J, Deng X, Luo Y, Xue H, Wang L, Xing L, Wu T. · 2026-08-28
open access unreviewed -
9
Blocking mitochondrial leucine transamination enhances T-cell activation and improves T-cell immunity against OVA-producing EL4 lymphoma.
Adam CM, Wetzel TJ, Erfan SC, Wheeler LM, Baer EE, Croll LP, Martin AM, Khan TZ, Swain ML, Boyer MP, Ananieva… · 2026-05-05
cited 1× open access unreviewed -
10
Alterations in brain metabolites in rats with experimental periodontitis: A metabolomic approach.
Pereira RRS, Magalhães CODE, Miguel ELM, Toledo LV, Orlando DR, Machado ART, Borges BDB, Pereira LJ, Dias-Pei… · 2026-01-12
cited 1× open access unreviewed
External claims. These come from an index outside this database and are not checked against it. Treat them as leads.