Editing Aspartic acid (section)

==Other biochemical roles==
Aspartate has many other biochemical roles. It is a [[metabolite]] in the [[urea cycle]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biochemistry - Biochemistry|url=https://www.varsitytutors.com/biochemistry-help/biochemistry?page=75|access-date=2022-02-18|website=www.varsitytutors.com|language=en}}</ref> and participates in [[gluconeogenesis]]. It carries reducing equivalents in the [[malate-aspartate shuttle]], which utilizes the ready interconversion of aspartate and [[oxaloacetate]], which is the oxidized (dehydrogenated) derivative of [[malic acid]]. Aspartate donates one nitrogen atom in the biosynthesis of [[inosine]], the precursor to the [[purine]] bases. In addition, aspartic acid acts as a hydrogen acceptor in a chain of ATP synthase. Dietary L-aspartic acid has been shown to act as an inhibitor of [[Beta-glucuronidase]], which serves to regulate [[enterohepatic circulation]] of [[bilirubin]] and bile acids.<ref>{{Cite journal|first1=Bill L.|last1= Kreamer|first2=Frank L.|last2=Siegel |first3=Glenn R.|last3= Gourley|date=Oct 2001|title=A novel inhibitor of beta-glucuronidase: L-aspartic acid.|journal=Pediatric Research|volume=50|issue=4|pages=460–466|pmid=11568288|doi=10.1203/00006450-200110000-00007|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Interactive pathway map===
{{GlycolysisGluconeogenesis_WP534|highlight=Aspartic_acid__alt1}}

===Neurotransmitter===
Aspartate (the [[conjugate base]] of aspartic acid) stimulates [[NMDA receptor]]s, though not as strongly as the amino acid neurotransmitter [[glutamic acid|L-glutamate]] does.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Chen PE, Geballe MT, Stansfeld PJ, Johnston AR, Yuan H, Jacob AL, Snyder JP, Traynelis SF, Wyllie DJ | s2cid = 13505187 | title = Structural features of the glutamate binding site in recombinant NR1/NR2A N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors determined by site-directed mutagenesis and molecular modeling | journal = Molecular Pharmacology | volume = 67 | issue = 5 | pages = 1470–84 | date = May 2005 | pmid = 15703381 | doi = 10.1124/mol.104.008185 }}</ref> Aspartate is the "A" in NMDA (N-methyl-D-'''aspartate''' receptor).