title: Gamma-glutamyl compounds and their enzymatic production using bacterial gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase.
abstract: Some amino acids and peptides, which have low solubility in water, become much more soluble following gamma-glutamylation. Compounds become more stable in the blood stream with gamma-glutamylation. Several gamma-glutamyl compounds are known to have favorable physiological effects on mammals. Gamma-glutamylation can improve taste and can stabilize glutamine in aqueous solution. Because of such favorable features, gamma-glutamyl compounds are very attractive. However, only a small number of gamma-glutamyl amino acids have been studied although many other gamma-glutamyl compounds may have characteristics that will benefit humans. This is mainly because gamma-glutamyl compounds have not been readily available. An efficient and simple method of producing various gamma-glutamyl compounds, especially gamma-glutamyl amino acids, using bacterial gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase has been developed. With this method, modifications of reactive groups of the substrate and energy source such as ATP are not required, and a wide-range of gamma-glutamyl compounds can be synthesized. Moreover, bacterial gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, a catalyst for this method, is readily available from the strain over-producing this enzyme. The superiority of producing gamma-glutamyl compounds with bacterial gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase over other methods of production is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Integrated Life Science, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. hideyuki@lif.kyoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kato
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002384:Catalysis; D005973:Glutamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D046908:Peptide Biosynthesis, Nucleic Acid-Independent; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D010455:Peptides; D005973:Glutamine; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase