Increased alanine aminotransferase activity in the Huntington's disease putamen

The activities of both mitochondrial and cytosolic forms of alanine aminotransferase are markedly increased in Huntington's disease putamen autopsy samples. This increase was not observed in rats with kainic acid lesions of the striatum, and suggests a considerable alteration of glutamate and pyruvate metabolism as a feature of Huntington's disease.