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In biochemistry, a 'transaminase' or an 'aminotransferase' is an enzyme that catalyzes a type of reaction between an amino acid and an α-keto acid. Specifically, this reaction (transamination) involves removing the amino group from the amino acid, leaving behind an α-keto acid, and transferring it to the reactant α-keto acid and converting it into an amino acid. The enzymes are important in the production of various amino acids, and measuring the concentrations of various transaminases in the blood is important in the diagnosing and tracking many diseases. Most transaminases require the coenzyme Pyridoxal-phosphate.
The presence of elevated transaminases can be an indicator of liver damage.

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References

★ Ghany, Marc & Hoofnagle, Jay H. (2005). Approach to the Patient With Liver Disease. In Dennis L. Kasper, Anthony S. Fauci, Dan L. Longo, Eugene Braunwald, Stephen L. Hauser, & J. Larry Jameson (Eds.), ''Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine'' (16th Edition), pp. 1814–1815. New York: McGraw-Hill.

★ Nelson, David L. & Cox, Michael M. (2000). ''Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry'' (3rd ed.), pp. 628–631, 634, 828–830. New York: Worth Publishers.

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