N-Acetylglutamate synthase

N-Acetylglutamate synthase (NAGS) is an enzyme that catalyses the production of N-acetylglutamate (NAG) from glutamate and acetyl-CoA.

Put simply NAGS catalyzes the following reaction:

acetyl-CoA + L-glutamate → CoA + N-acetyl-L-glutamate

NAGS, a member of the N-acetyltransferase family of enzymes, is present in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, although its role and structure differ widely depending on the species. NAG can be used in the production of ornithine and arginine, two important amino acids, or as an allosteric cofactor for carbamoyl phosphate synthase (CPS1). In mammals, NAGS is expressed primarily in the liver and small intestine, and is localized to the mitochondrial matrix.