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Enzymic Formation of Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid from γ-Glutamyl Peptides

Nature volume 177, pages 377–378 (1956)Cite this article

Abstract

PYRROLIDONE carboxylic acid has been reported frequently as a constituent of biological systems. Ellfolk and Synge1 have summarized these reports and clarified the reliability of methods used for its identification. Pyrrolidone carboxylic acid can be formed rather readily from glutamine, γ-glutamyl peptides, and even glutamic acid in non-enzymic reactions, and in some cases this may account for its reported natural occurrence. For example, Woodward and Reinhart2 claimed that an enzyme from kidney, later characterized as γ-glutamyl transpeptidase3, caused the formation of varying amounts of pyrrolidone carboxylic acid from glutathione; but the results of Hird and Springell4 suggest strongly that the pyrrolidone carboxylic acid isolated by these authors resulted from secondary non-enzymic breakdown of γ-glutamyl peptides under the drastic conditions applied.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto,

    GEORGE E. CONNELL & CHARLES S. HANES

Authors
  1. GEORGE E. CONNELL
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  2. CHARLES S. HANES
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CONNELL, G., HANES, C. Enzymic Formation of Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid from γ-Glutamyl Peptides. Nature 177, 377–378 (1956). https://doi.org/10.1038/177377a0

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