a common intermediate of TCA cycle through oxaloacetate and urea cycle
The common intermediate of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle through oxaloacetate and the urea cycle is aspartate.
Aspartate is a non-essential amino acid that can be synthesized by the body from oxaloacetate through transamination reactions. In the TCA cycle, oxaloacetate is converted to citrate, which is then metabolized to produce energy in the form of ATP. However, oxaloacetate can also be used to synthesize aspartate through a transamination reaction with glutamate.
Aspartate is also involved in the urea cycle, which is responsible for the detoxification of ammonia, a toxic byproduct of amino acid metabolism. Aspartate reacts with ammonia to form argininosuccinate, an intermediate in the urea cycle that eventually leads to the production of urea, which is excreted in urine.
Therefore, aspartate plays an important role in both energy metabolism (TCA cycle) and nitrogen metabolism (urea cycle), and is a common intermediate between the two pathways.