Endopeptidases

Like exopeptidases, endopeptidases belong to the peptidases . Endopeptidases enzymatically break peptide bonds within the protein . They are usually very specific for certain amino acids .

Examples are:

• pepsin
• Trypsin : specific for arginine and lysine
• Chymotrypsin : specific for tryptophan, tyrosine and phenylalanine
• Chymosin
• Elastase

Exopeptidases, on the other hand, break peptide bonds at the end of the protein and thus remove one amino acid after the other. In contrast to the endopeptidases, they are not specific for individual amino acids, but often have a broader specificity, e.g. B. preferably after basic amino acids.

Web links

• MeSH endopeptidases
• Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (NC-IUBMB): Enzyme Nomenclature. Recommendations. EC 3.4: Acting on peptide bonds (peptidases).
• ExPASy: hydrolases. Acting on peptide bonds (peptide hydrolases) .