α-Ketoglutaramate (KGM) is the α-keto
acid analogue of
glutamine, which exists mostly in equilibrium with a
lactam form (2-hydroxy-5-oxoproline) under physiological conditions. KGM was identified in human urine and its concentration quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The keto
acid was shown to be markedly elevated in urine obtained from patients with primary
hyperammonemia due to an inherited metabolic defect in any one of the five
enzymes of the
urea cycle. Increased urinary KGM was also noted in other patients with primary
hyperammonemia, including three patients with a defect resulting in
lysinuric protein intolerance and one of two patients with a defect in the
ornithine transporter I. These findings indicate disturbances in
nitrogen metabolism, most probably at the level of
glutamine metabolism in primary
hyperammonemia diseases. Urinary KGM levels, however, were not well correlated with secondary
hyperammonemia in patients with
propionic acidemia or
methylmalonic acidemia, possibly as a result, in part, of decreased
glutamine levels. In conclusion, the GC/MS procedure has the required lower limit of quantification for analysis of urinary KGM, which is markedly increased in
urea cycle disorders and other primary hyperammonemic diseases.