In the malate aspartate shuttle, glutamate is converted to α-ketoglutarate in the mitochondria by the enzyme glutamate dehydrogenase while aspartate is converted to oxaloacetate in the cytosol by the enzyme aspartate aminotransferase.
An important enzyme in the malate aspartate shuttle, is malate dehydrogenase. In the shuttle system, it is present in the mitochondria and in the cytosol and catalyzes the enzymatic reaction in opposite direction.
