Glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII), also known as N-acetyl-L-aspartyl-L-glutamate peptidase I (NAALADase I), NAAG peptidase, or Prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the FOLH1 (folate hydrolase 1) gene. Human GCPII contains 750 amino acids and weighs approximately 84 kDa.
GCPII is a zinc metalloenzyme that resides in membranes. Most of the enzyme resides in the extracellular space. GCPII is a class II membrane glycoprotein. It catalyzes the hydrolysis of N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) to glutamate and N-acetylaspartate (NAA) according to the reaction scheme to the right.
Neuroscientists primarily use the term NAALADase in their studies, while those studying folate metabolism use folate hydrolase, and those studying prostate cancer or oncology, PSMA. All of which refer to the same protein glutamate carboxypeptidase II.
Read more about Glutamate Carboxypeptidase II: Discovery, Structure, Enzyme Kinetics, Role in Prostate Cancer, Neurotransmitter Degradation