L-Glutamine

L-Glutamine (L-Glutamic acid 5-amide) is a non-essential amino acid present abundantly throughout the body and involved in many metabolic processes. L-Glutamine provides a source of carbons for oxidation in some cells^[1][2]. In Vitro: L-Glutamine is important as a precursor for peptide and protein synthesis, amino sugar synthesis, purine and pyrimidine and thus nucleic acid and nucleotide synthesis, and also provides a source of carbons for oxidation in some cells. L-Glutamine is the most abundant extracellular amino acid in vivo (0.7 mM compared to an approximate L-glutamate concentration of 20 μM)^[1].
In BRIN-BD11 cells, culture for 24 h with 10 mM L-Glutamine compared with 1 mM resulted in substantial changes in gene expression with 148 genes upregulated more than 1.8-fold, and 18 downregulated more than 1.8-fold, including many genes involved in cellular signaling, metabolism, gene regulation, and the insulin-secretory response. L-Glutamine increases the activity of the Ca2+ regulated phosphatase calcineurin and the transcription factor Pdx1^[2].