New publication in "J. Biol Chem."

January 25, 2016 /

Study of a human Protein Glutamine Methyltransferase

The modification of proteins plays a key role in biology. While some modifications are widely distributed and studied in great detail, the methylation of glutamine is a rare modification that is not studied very intensively. Currently, only three glutamine methylation sites are known in the human proteome. In a new paper published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, we have studied the substrate sequence specificities of the human HEMK2 Protein Glutamine Methyltransferase. Based on our data, we identified novel 11 substrates which undergo glutamine methylation indicating that this modification is more widespread than previously thought. Future studies need to investigate the biological function of these novel glutamine methylation events. The figure shows a Glutamine as part of a protein with an attached methyl group in orange.

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