Subcellular location of peptidylarginine deiminase in the mouse brain.

deiminase (proteinarginine deiminase, protein L-arginine iminohydrolase EC 3.5.3.15), a Ca2+-dependent protein-modulating enzyme, catalyzes the deimination of arginyl residues in proteins.1>2) Although peptidylarginine deiminases were detected in many mammaliantissues3~5) and some of their chemical, physico-chemical, and enzymological properties6~8) have been reported, little is known about the functions of the enzyme in the cell. We9) and Kubilus et al}0) demonstrated that peptidylarginine deiminase is found in the central nervous system throughout the vertebrates and may be involved in neuronal functions. Therefore, we thought that it is important to study the