Multiple choice

Glutamate up-take into glial cells

  1. is a dead-end pathway

  2. is by passive diffusion

  3. ends in its metabolism into glutamine by glutaminase

  4. ends in its metabolism into glutamine by glutamine synthase

  5. ends in its metabolism into GABA by glutamic acid decarboxylase

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Glutamine synthase is a glial enzyme that metabolizes glutamate into glutamine. Because glutamine is relatively small and uncharged, it can diffuse across the glial and neuronal membranes and once in the neurons glutaminase converts glutamine into glutamate trapping it in the neuron, it can then be packaged into vesicles for release.

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