Understanding cerebral L-lysine metabolism: the role of L-pipecolate metabolism in Gcdh-deficient mice as a model for glutaric aciduria type I

Inherited deficiencies of the L-lysine catabolic pathway cause glutaric aciduria type I and pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy. Dietary modulation of cerebral L-lysine metabolism is thought to be an important therapeutic intervention for these diseases. To better understand cerebral L-lysine degradation, we studied in mice the two known catabolic routes — pipecolate and saccharopine pathways — using labeled stable L-lysine and brain peroxisomes purified according to a newly established protocol. Experiments with labeled stable L-lysine show that cerebral L-pipecolate is generated along two pathways: i) a minor proportion retrograde after ε-deamination of L-lysine along the saccharopine pathway, and ii) a major proportion anterograde after α-deamination of L-lysine along the pipecolate pathway. In line with these findings, we observed only little production of saccharopine in the murine brain. L-pipecolate oxidation was only detectable in brain peroxisomes, but L-pipecolate oxidase activity was low (7 ± 2μU/mg protein). In conclusion, L-pipecolate is a major degradation product from L-lysine in murine brain generated by α-deamination of this amino acid.