Purification and properties of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase from Proteus mirabilis.

gamma-Glutamyltranspeptidase was purified ca. 15,200-fold from cell-free extracts of Proteus mirabilis to electrophoretic homogeneity and then crystallized. The enzyme has an estimated molecular weight of 80,000 and consists of two different subunits with molecular weights of ca. 47,000 and 28,000. The purified enzyme catalyzed hydrolysis and transpeptidation of various gamma-glutamyl compounds, including the oxidized and reduced forms of glutathione, gamma-glutamyl compounds of L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine, L-histidine, L-alpha-aminobutyrate, L-leucine, and p-nitroaniline. Glycylglycine, L-phenylalanine, L-methionine, L-histidine, L-tryptophan, and L-isoleucine were good acceptors of the gamma-glutamyl moiety in the transpeptidation reaction. Km values for gamma-glutamyl compounds were on the order of 10(-4) to 10(-5) M, and those for acceptor peptides and amino acids were on the order of 10(-2) to 10(-3) M. The enzyme was inhibited by L-serine plus borate and 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine, which are inhibitors of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidases isolated from mammals. Various amino acids alone were found to inhibit the transpeptidation competitively with a gamma-glutamyl donor. Kinetic analysis suggested that the reaction sequence of substrate binding and product release proceeds according to a ping pong bi bi mechanism.