tcsc2315 L-Phenylalanine

L-Phenylalanine is an antagonist at α2δ calcium channels with a Ki of 980 nM.

IC50 Value: 980 nM [1]

Target: Calcium Channel

L-Phenylalanine (LPA) is an electrically neutral amino acid, one of the twenty common amino acids used to biochemically form proteins. In the brain, L-phenylalanine is a competitive antagonist at the glycine binding site of NMDA receptor and at the glutamate binding site of AMPA receptor [2, 3]. At the glycine binding site of NMDA receptor L-phenylalanine has an apparent equilibrium dissociation constant (KB) of 573 M estimated by Schild regression [4] which is considerably lower than brain L-phenylalanine concentration observed in untreated human phenylketonuria [5]. L-Phenylalanine also inhibits neurotransmitter release at glutamatergic synapses in hippocampus and cortex with IC50 of 980 nM, a brain concentration seen in classical phenylketonuria, whereas D-phenylalanine has a significantly smaller effect [3].