InterPro: IPR000101 Gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase

Gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (EC:2.3.2.2) (GGT) [1] catalyzes the transfer of the gamma-glutamyl moiety of glutathione to an acceptor that may be an amino acid, a peptide or water (forming glutamate). GGT plays a key role in the gamma-glutamyl cycle, a pathway for the synthesis and degradation of glutathione and drug and xenobiotic detoxification [2]. In prokaryotes and eukaryotes, it is an enzyme that consists of two polypeptide chains, a heavy and a light subunit, processed from a single chain precursor by an autocatalytic cleavage. The active site of GGT is known to be located in the light subunit. The sequences of mammalian and bacterial GGT show a number of regions of high similarity [3]. Pseudomonas cephalosporin acylases (EC:3.5.1) that convert 7-beta-(4-carboxybutanamido)-cephalosporanic acid (GL-7ACA) into 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (7ACA) and glutaric acid are evolutionary related to GGT and also show some GGT activity [4]. Like GGT, these GL-7ACA acylases, are also composed of two subunits.

As an autocatalytic peptidase GGT belongs to MEROPS peptidase family T3 (gamma-glutamyltransferase family, clan PB(T)). The active site residue for members of this family and family T1 is C-terminal to the autolytic cleavage site. The type example is gamma-glutamyltransferase 1 from Escherichia coli.