Identifying residues crosslinked by transglutaminases

Dr. Thomas Jeitner has developed a method to identify residues crosslinked by transglutaminases. In this method, dansylcadaverine, a fluorescent molecule, is attached to crosslinked residues. For this work, he took advantage of the fact that tissue transglutaminase (TG2) crosslinks itself; in doing so, he revealed that the enzyme forms crosslinks with native TG2, and with the aggregates it forms. By identifying the fluorescently labeled residues, Dr. Jeitner will determine the never-before-described order in which transglutaminase-catalyzed aggregation proceeds.