Rat kidney y-glutamyl transpeptidase (EC 2.3.2.2) is composed of two non-identical subunits (the large and small subunits). In the native state of this enzyme, the active site resides on the small subunit. The present investigation has been performed to confirm and extend in further detail the previously described finding that the large subunit isolated from the native dimeric enzyme is also catalytically active [S. Horiuchi, M. Inoue and Y. Morino (1978) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 80,873 -8781. A pure preparation of y-glutamyl transpeptidase which had been completely inactivated by affinity labeling with 6-diazo-5-oxo-~-norleucine was dissociated into the small subunit and the large subunit under denaturating conditions. Upon renaturation, only the large subunit restored the enzymic activity.Sephadex G-200 column chromatography of the renatured preparation of the large subunit revealed the presence both of enzymically inactive aggregate forms and the enzymically active species. The enzymically active molecules of the renatured large subunit behaved as particles having a molecular weight of 48000 2 2000. This indicates that the enzymically active species of the large subunit has a monomeric structure.Under the present experimental conditions, the restoration of enzymic activity of the large subunit was optimal at a protein concentration of approximately 150 pg/ml and seemed to require the presence of glutathione or its S-methyl derivative as a substrate ligand.The restoration of the enzymic activity of the large subunit was accompanied by a conformational change as judged by both circular dichroic and immunochemical properties.Some kinetic properties of the reaction with y-glutamyl-p-nitroanilide and the affinity label, 6-diazo-5-oxo-~-norleucine were essentially identical between the renatured large subunit and the native oligomeric enzyme. y-Glutamyl transpeptidase catalyzes the transfer reaction of a y-glutamyl moiety of glutathione or S-substituted glutathione derivatives to acceptors such as amino acids and peptides [1,2]. Many proposals have been made on the possible participation of this enzyme in physiological functions, including ammoniagenesis in metabolic acidosis [3,4], mercapturate biosynthesis [5,6], amino acid and peptide transport [7 -91 and so forth. Rat kidney y-glutamyl transpeptidase consists of two non-identical subunits (the large and small subunit) [lo-121. The small subunit has been shown to have an active site which is labeled by 6-diazo-5-oxo-~-norleucine, an affinity label for this enzyme [13,14], suggesting that the small subunit is a catalytic component of the enzyme. However, little has been known about the functional Enzyme. y-Glutamyl transpeptidase (EC 2.3.2.2) aspect of the large subunit except that this subunit may be mainly involved in anchoring this membranous enzyme into the renal brush border membrane [ l l , 12,151.When we studied subunit-subunit interaction of y-glutamyl transpeptidase to gain an insight into the possible functional role of the large subunit, a re...