title: Transglutaminases: crosslinking enzymes with pleiotropic functions.
abstract: Blood coagulation, skin-barrier formation, hardening of the fertilization envelope, extracellular-matrix assembly and other important biological processes are dependent on the rapid generation of covalent crosslinks between proteins. These reactions--which are catalysed by transglutaminases--endow the resulting supramolecular structure with extra rigidity and resistance against proteolytic degradation. Some transglutaminases function as molecular switches in cytoskeletal scaffolding and modulate protein-protein interactions. Having knowledge of these enzymes is essential for understanding the aetiologies of diverse hereditary diseases of the blood and skin, and various autoimmune, inflammatory and degenerative conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, 303 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA. l-lorand@northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Laszlo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lorand
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Graham
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000201:enzymology / Q000209:etiology; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D011503:Transglutaminases / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D011503:Transglutaminases