Chemical Properties
WHITE CRYSTALLINE POWDER
Uses
α-(Methylamino)isobutyric acid (MeAIB) has been used:
- as a system A transport system inhibitor to perform inhibition experiments
- as a system A transport system inhibitor to study its effect on the generation of epileptiform field potentials (EFPs) in the acutely disinhibited cortical slices
- as an N-acetyltransferase (SNAT) inhibitor in Hankμs balanced salt solution (HBSS) to study its influence on the uptake of 14C-cysteine/ radioactive-labeled cysteine
Definition
ChEBI: Alpha-(methylamino)isobutyric acid is a non-proteinogenic alpha-amino acid that is isobutyric acid in which the alpha-hydrogen has been replaced by a methylamino group. It has a role as a human urinary metabolite. It is an alanine derivative, a non-proteinogenic alpha-amino acid and a secondary amino compound. It is functionally related to an isobutyric acid. It is a conjugate acid of a N-methyl-aminoisobutyrate zwitterion.
Synthesis Reference(s)
The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 60, p. 8120, 1995
DOI: 10.1021/jo00130a002
Biological Activity
α-(Methylamino)isobutyric acid (MeAIB), a competitive inhibitor of the neutral amino acid transport A system, is an N-methylated substrate. It is capable of decreasing the amplitude of the miniature excitatory postsynaptic current (mEPSC) in hippocampus neurons developing on top of astrocytes. MeAIB can block the alanine-proline (AP) pathway.
