NMN Working Mechanism

NMN Working Mechanism

Edited by Joan

How does NMN enter the cell?

Different ways NMN enters cells

NMN has a membrane transporter on the surface of some cells, which can directly transfer NMN into the cell, so there are two ways for NMN to enter the cell:

Enter cells directly through transporters: At the beginning of 2019, a paper on nature metabolism confirmed this idea. The article found that there is a NMN-specific transporter in the small intestine of mice, called Slc12a8, which is an amino acid and polyamine transporter. It has a high selectivity for NMN and does not transport NaMN, which is very similar in structure to NMN.

The CD73 on the cell membrane surface is dephosphorylated to NR (by balancing nucleoside transporters ENTs) and enters the cell, and then it is catalyzed by the cytoplasmic NRK enzyme to NMN, which enters the mitochondria and is used (mitochondria have no NRK).

NAM is not only the precursor of NMN, but also the product of NAD+ hydrolyzed by CD38 through the NADase activity depletion pathway. Therefore, the synthesis, utilization and regeneration of NAD+ is a involve the intracellular and extracellular circulation.

NMN/NR→NAD+→NAM→NMN