How Does Transamination Differ from Deamination

Question

Examlex · Accepted Answer

The Answer is Protein catabolism involves removing the nitrogen-containing amino group and using the remainder of the amino acid to generate energy.Transamination, the first step in this process, includes transferring the amino group from an amino acid to a compound called an

\alpha

-ketoacid to form a new amino acid.
Deamination, the second step of amino acid catabolism, occurs primarily in the liver.This process removes the amino group from an amino acid, leaving an

\alpha

-ketoacid.The amino group removed from the amino acid is converted to ammonia.Because ammonia is toxic to cells, it is quickly converted to a less toxic substance called urea, which is released into the blood.Urea is removed from the blood by the kidneys and excreted in the urine.Deamination also produces NADH + H⁺, which then produces energy through oxidative phosphorylation via the electron transport chain.
After transamination and deamination are complete, an

\alpha

-ketoacid is able to enter the citric acid cycle at various points.

How Does Transamination Differ from Deamination

Definitions: