抄録
NAD is involved in the numerous metabolic reactions as a major coenzyme. Further, NAD is known as the ADP-ribose donor for the covalent modifications (mono-and poly-ADP-ribosylation) or the synthesis of a signaling molecule, cyclic ADP-ribose. Mono-ADP-ribosylation is a posttranslational modification in which the ADP-ribose moiety of NAD is transferred to target amino acid residues in the proteins or peptides. Bacterial toxins, such as chorela and pertuissis, include mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase activity and modify the crucial cellular proteins Gsa and Gioc, thereby resulting in the disturbance of cellular function. Mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases have been detected not only in bacteria but also in eukaryotes, and vertebrate ADP-ribosyltransferases have been identified in various tissues and cells. In this review, we have highlighted and outlined the arginine-specific ADP-ribosyltransferases 'Arts' in vertebrates, and discussed the possible roles of Arts in cellular functions. We have also described newly identified chicken glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored Arts. Vertebrate Arts, and ADP-ribosylarginine hydrolases which cleave ADP-ribose-arginine linkage on the protein, are constitutively expressed on cells and may play critical roles for various cellular functions via ADP-ribosylation and de-ADP-ribosylation cycle. Recent research developments in the ADP-ribosylation would disclose its involvement in cellular processes in the near future.
