A protein precursor, also called a pro-protein or pro-peptide, is an inactive protein (or peptide) that can be turned into an active form by post-translational modification, such as breaking off a piece of the molecule or adding on another molecule. The name of the precursor for a protein is often prefixed by pro-.

Small modifications of the propeptide sequences modulate the activity of the enzymes, which may be useful as a therapeutic strategy. This review provides an overview of known human proteases, with a focus on the role of their propeptides.

Activation of proteins by cleavage of precursors is a common theme: the precursor protein is termed a proprotein, and the peptide that is cleaved off of it to activate the protein is called the propeptide.

2020年4月14日 · Proteases are a diverse group of hydrolytic enzymes, ranging from single-domain catalytic molecules to sophisticated multi-functional macromolecules. Human proteases are divided into five mechanistic classes: aspartate, cysteine, metallo, serine and threonine proteases, based on the catalytic mechanism of hydrolysis.

2024年5月24日 · Propeptides play essential roles in protein folding, transportation, and activation and are present in about 2.3% of reviewed proteins in the UniProt database. They are often found in secreted or membrane-bound proteins including proteolytic enzymes, hormones, and toxins.

2010年10月1日 · Changes in propeptide structure, sometimes minor, can crucially alter protein function in the living organism. Modulatory activity coupled with high variation allows us to consider propeptides as specific evolutionary modules that can transform biological properties of proteases without significant changes in the highly conserved catalytic domains.

Propeptides of coagulation factors are essential for the carboxylation of precursor proteins. These propeptide sequences are highly conserved, especially at residues −16, −10, −6, −4, and −1.

2024年5月22日 · A propeptide, also known as a proprotein, prosegment, prosequence, prodomain or pro region, is a specific segment of a protein's primary structure that is initially synthesized as part of the precursor protein but is later removed to …

2018年11月30日 · The propeptide is the least studied domain of proMMP‐9 in terms of its modifications and functions. The human propeptide consists of 87 amino acids and is glycosylated at Asn 38 (all amino acid numberings in this report include the signal peptide) 1, 14.

Most proteases are synthesized in the cell as precursor-containing propeptides. These structural elements can deter-mine the folding of the cognate protein, function as an inhibitor/activator peptide, mediate enzyme sorting, and mediate the protease interaction with other molecules and supramolecular structures.