deamidation

Introduction

A chemical reaction in which an amide functional group is removed from an organic compound.

In biochemistry, functions in the degradation of proteins via alteration of the amide-containing side chains of the amino acid residues Asn & Gln. Asn is converted to Asp or iso-Asp; Gln is converted to Glu.

Deamidation may be one of the factors that limit the useful lifetime of proteins.

Deamidation is more facile if the susceptible amino acid residue is adjacent to a small, flexible residue such as glycine. Deamidation reactions are more facile at elevated pH & temperature.

Deamidation may be enzymatically catalyzed by:

• protein N-terminal asparagine amidohydrolase (PNAA)

More general terms

• biochemistry