Cysteine proteases caricain

Cysteine proteases are so called because of a critical cysteine involved (together with an adjacent histidine) in the catalytic mechanism. Cysteine proteases include papain-related proteases, calpain-related proteases and the caspases. Papain-like cysteine proteases include the plant enzymes actinidin, aleurain, bromelain, caricain, chymopapain, ficin and papain and the lysosomal cathepsins B, C, H, K, L and S. Cathepsin C is multimeric (MW -200,000), but the other papain-related proteases are monomeric with MWs of about 20,000-35,000. While cathepsin C is a dipeptidyl aminopeptidase, the other enzymes are endopeptidases. Cathepsin B is an endopeptidase and a dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase. Cathepsin H is an endopeptidase and an aminopeptidase. In higher animals, cathepsin B generates peptides from antigens for presentation to T cells by the major histocompatibility... 

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