文摘
N-Terminal glutaminyl and glutamyl residues of peptides and proteins tend to form pyroglutamic acid (pGlu) by intramolecular cylization. The rate constants for spontaneous cyclization of glutamine (10−6 s−1) and glutamic acid (10−9 s−1) in aqueous solution differ by 3 orders of magnitude at pH 6.5. Glutaminyl cyclases (QCs) from plants and mammals accelerate pGlu formation. Human QC exhibits a rate enhancement of 2.2 × 105 for glutamate cyclization, approximately 2 orders of magnitude lower than that of the corresponding N-terminal glutaminyl reaction. Thus, glutaminyl cyclases are enzymes with only modest specificity for cyclization of their primary glutaminyl substrates and may provide a link between glutamate cyclization and pathophysiology.