D-cysteine is an endogenous regulator of neural progenitor cell dynamics in the mammalian brain.

ABSTRACT: d-amino acids are increasingly recognized as important signaling molecules in the mammalian central nervous system. However, the d-stereoisomer of the amino acid with the fastest spontaneous racemization ratein vitro in vitro, cysteine, has not been examined in mammals. Using chiral high-performance liquid chromatography and a stereospecific luciferase assay, we identify endogenous d-cysteine in the mammalian brain. We identify serine racemase (SR), which generates the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor coagonist d-serine, as a candidate biosynthetic enzyme for d-cysteine. d-cysteine is enriched more than 20-fold in the embryonic mouse brain compared with the adult brain. d-cysteine reduces the proliferation of cultured mouse embryonic neural progenitor cells (NPCs) by ∼50%, ef

SUBMITTER: Semenza ER 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8488618 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature