Endopeptidases, protein digestion

Protein digestion occurs in two stages endopeptidases catalyse the hydrolysis of peptide bonds within the protein molecule to form peptides, and the peptides are hydrolysed to form the amino acids by exopeptidases and dipeptidases. Enteropeptidase initiates pro-enzyme activation in the small intestine by catalysing the conversion of trypsinogen into trypsin. Trypsin is able to achieve further activation of trypsinogen, i.e. an autocatalytic process, and also activates chymotrypsinogen and pro-elastase, by the selective hydro-... 

Dietary proteins, with very few exceptions, are not absorbed rather they must be digested into amino acids, or di- and tripeptides. Protein digestion begins in the stomach, where proenzyme pepsinogen is autocatalytically converted to pepsin A. Most proteolysis takes place in the duodenum via enzymes secreted by the pancreas, including trypsinogen, chymotrypsinogen and pro-carboxypeptidase A. These serine and zinc proteases are produced in the form of their respective proenzymes they are both endopeptidase and exopeptidase, and their combined action leads to the production of amino acids, dipeptides and tripeptides. 

Protein digestion begins in the stomach, where protein is denatured by the low pH and is exposed to the action of pepsin. The low pH also provides the optimal H+ concentration for pepsin activity. The zymogen precursor pepsinogen (M.W. 40,000) is secreted by the chief cells and is converted to pepsin (M.W. 32,7(K)) in the acid medium by removal of a peptide consisting of 44 amino acid residues. This endopeptidase hydrolyzes peptide bonds that involve the carboxyl group of aromatic amino acid residues, leucine, methionine, and acidic residues (Table 12-5). The products consist of a mixture of oligopeptides. 

While all proteases convert proteins to amino acids, each enzyme acts on a particnlar section of the protein. Endopeptidases hydrolyze peptide bonds that are adjacent to specific amino acid side chains, thns converting long protein chains into many shorter peptides. The exopeptidases hydrolyze peptide bonds at either the carboxyl- or amino-terminal ends of these peptides. The endopeptidases, therefore, prodnce more snbstrates for the exopeptidases so that the rate of protein digestion accelerates almost like a chain reaction and then declines as the hydrolytic processes approach completion. 

The oligopeptides formed by the action of the endopeptidases are broken down into their constituent amino acids by the action of the exopeptidases. The carboxypeptidase of the pancreas splits amino acids one by one from the C-terminus so that, by the time they reach the absorbing cells of the small intestine, the dietary proteins have been converted into a mixture of amino acids and small peptides. The mucosal cells which contain both aminopeptidases and dipeptidase take up the small peptides which are then hydrolysed either within the brush border or in the layer immediately beneath it. Thus the final stages of protein digestion, like those of carbohydrates, are intracellular. Under normal circumstances no peptides pass across the mucosa to enter the bloodstream. 

Disulfide Connectivities of a GM2 Activator Protein Fragment (24) Prepared by Digestion with Trypsin, S. aureus V8 Protease and Endopeptidase Asp-N [79 ... 

In the digestive system trypsin, chymotrypsin, and elastase work as a team. They are all endopeptidases, which means that they cleave protein chains at internal peptide bonds, but each preferentially hydrolyses bonds adjacent to a particular type of amino acid residue (fig. 8.4). Trypsin cuts just next to basic residues (lysine or arginine) chymotrypsin cuts next to aromatic residues (phenylalanine, tyrosine, or tryptophan) elastase is less discriminating but prefers small, hydrophobic residues such as alanine. 

Most dietary proteins are known not to be absorbed in humans as intact forms. Instead, they are usually broken down into amino acids or di- and tripeptides first in the GI tract. The stomach secretes pepsinogen, which is converted to the active protease pepsin by the action of acid. Pepsins, which are most active at pH 2-3, hydrolyze partially digested dietary proteins. The partially digested dietary proteins are further broken down by proteolytic enzymes (peptidases) produced by the pancreas and secreted in the duodenum of the small intestine. The peptidases that break the internal peptide linkages are known as endopeptidases, whereas those that attack the terminal, or end, groups of amino acids are called exopeptidases. 

Proteins in food are initially broken down into smaller polypeptides by endopeptidases that hydrolyze peptide bonds within the chain. Digestive enzymes have specificity or preference for particular side chains adjacent to the peptide to be cleaved, but there is sufficient variety to break the great majority of proteins into small polypeptides. The endopeptidases include the pepsins, trypsin, chymotrypsin, and elastase. 

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