Protease

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Protease

Protease (/proʊˈtiː.eɪz/), also known as a proteolytic enzyme, is a type of enzyme that performs proteolysis. Proteolysis is the breakdown of proteins into smaller polypeptides or single amino acids.

Etymology

The term "protease" is derived from the words "protein" and "enzyme". The suffix "-ase" is used in biochemistry to denote enzymes.

Function

Proteases are involved in a multitude of physiological reactions from simple digestion of food proteins to highly regulated cascades (e.g., the blood-clotting cascade, the complement system, apoptosis pathways, and the invertebrate prophenoloxidase-activating cascade). Proteases can either break specific peptide bonds (limited proteolysis), depending on the amino acid sequence of a protein, or break down a complete peptide to amino acids (unlimited proteolysis).

Types of Proteases

There are three main types of proteases based on their catalytic residue: serine proteases, cysteine proteases, and aspartic proteases.

  • Serine proteases are a type of protease that cleave peptide bonds in proteins, in which serine serves as the nucleophilic amino acid at the enzyme's active site.
  • Cysteine proteases are enzymes that degrade proteins. These proteases share a common catalytic mechanism that involves a nucleophilic cysteine thiol in a catalytic dyad or triad.
  • Aspartic proteases are a family of proteolytic enzymes containing a nucleophilic aspartate in their active site.

Related Terms

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