Structural features of glutamine substrates for transglutaminases. Role of extended interactions in the specificity of human plasma factor XIIIa and of the guinea pig liver enzyme.

Amino acid residues at several locations in close primary vicinity to a substrate glutamine residue have been recognized as important determinants for the specificities of human plasma factor XIIIa and guinea pig liver transglutaminase (Gorman, J. J., and Folk, J. E. (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 2712-2715). The present studies measure the influence on transglutaminase specificity of some changes in amino acid side chains in a small synthetic glutamine peptide amide, Leu-Gly-Leu-Gly-Gln-Gly-Lys-Val-Leu-GlyNH2, which was designed to contain most of the known elements needed for enzyme recognition. The results are in agreement with previous findings and show that full catalytic activity of each enzyme may be retained upon replacement of the lysine residue by certain other amino acid residues. Evidence is provided that serine in place of glycine at one or more positions causes a significant increase in specificity with factor XIIIa, but not with liver enzyme. The effective substrate property for factor XIIIa seen with the model peptide amide is lost upon reversal of the sequence Val-Leu. This is not the case with the liver enzyme even though replacement of either of these amino acids by alanine causes a pronounced loss in activity with this enzyme. These differences and the effects of various other substitutions in the model peptide amide on the enzymes' specificities points up the relatively stringent structural requirements of factor XIIIa and the rather broad requirements for liver transglutaminase.