title: Snake venom glutaminyl cyclase.
abstract: Glutaminyl cyclase (QC) catalyzes N-terminal glutamine cyclization of many endocrine peptides and is typically abundant in brain tissue. As three-finger toxins in the venoms of colubrid snakes Boiga dendrophila and Boiga irregularis contain N-terminal pyroglutamate, we searched for QC in venom glands of both snakes. Here we report cDNA sequences of QC from brain and venom gland tissues of Boiga species. We propose that QC expressed in snake venom gland tissue plays a role in the N-terminal pyroglutamate formation of several snake venom toxins, indirectly contributing to venom potency.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pawlak
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Manjunatha Kini
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017812:Colubridae; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D006162:Guanylate Cyclase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D012910:Snake Venoms / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012910:Snake Venoms; D006162:Guanylate Cyclase