This enzyme is useful for enzymatic determination of NH3, α-ketoglutaric acid and L-glutamic acid, and for assay of leucine aminopeptidase and urease. This enzyme is also used for enzymatic determination of urea when coupled with urease (URH-201) in clinical analysis. In vitro, various activity assays of this enzyme examine the conversion of α-ketoglutarate to L-glutamate, in the presence of excess ammonium ions (NH4+) and NADPH.