This gene is a member of the aldehyde dehydrogenase family and encodes a bifunctional ATP- and NADPH-dependent mitochondrial enzyme with both gamma-glutamyl kinase and gamma-glutamyl phosphate reductase activities. The encoded protein catalyzes the reduction of glutamate to delta1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate, a critical step in the de novo biosynthesis of proline, ornithine and arginine. Mutations in this gene lead to hyperammonemia, hypoornithinemia, hypocitrullinemia, hypoargininemia and hypoprolinemia and may be associated with neurodegeneration, cataracts and connective tissue diseases. Alternatively spliced transcript variants, encoding different isoforms, have been described for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
Forensic Context
A study in mice and rats demonstrated that the ALDH18A1 is downregulated in the corpus cavernosum of animals with age-related erectile dysfunction, as validated by immunofluorescence analysis [Long et al. DOI:10.1093/sexmed/qfaf078].