Chymotrypsin: Difference between revisions
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==Overview== | ==Overview== | ||
Chymotrypsin is a protease, an enzyme catalyzing the hydrolysis of peptide bonds of proteins. Chymotrypsin helps to digest proteins in our food. Other proteases are crucial for blood clotting, for the AIDS virus metabolism ([http://www.proteopedia.org/wiki/index.php/Hiv_protease HIV protease]) and for many other processes relevant to human health and agriculture. | Chymotrypsin is a protease, an enzyme catalyzing the hydrolysis of peptide bonds of proteins. Chymotrypsin helps to digest proteins in our food. Other proteases are crucial for blood clotting ([http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=stryer&part=A1378&rendertype=figure&id=A1401 thrombin and other proteases]), for the AIDS virus metabolism ([http://www.proteopedia.org/wiki/index.php/Hiv_protease HIV protease]) and for many other processes relevant to human health and agriculture. | ||
While chymotrypsin occurs in many organisms, the most-studied chymotrypsin is that from cows (bovine chymotrypsin). In its mature form, bovine chymotrypsin is a protein consisting of 245 amino acids. This string of amino acids folds into a <scene name='Chymotrypsin/Chymotrypsin_spacefill/2'>compact structure</scene>. (Can you guess where the substrate might bind? Try spinning around the molecule by dragging it with the mouse cursor. There should be a pocket somewhere on the surface of the enzyme). The path of the backbone is easier to see in this <scene name='Chymotrypsin/Chymotrypsin_fold_rainbow/1'>backbone cartoon</scene>, which shows that chymotrypsin folds into two large beta sheets. | While chymotrypsin occurs in many organisms, the most-studied chymotrypsin is that from cows (bovine chymotrypsin). In its mature form, bovine chymotrypsin is a protein consisting of 245 amino acids. This string of amino acids folds into a <scene name='Chymotrypsin/Chymotrypsin_spacefill/2'>compact structure</scene>. (Can you guess where the substrate might bind? Try spinning around the molecule by dragging it with the mouse cursor. There should be a pocket somewhere on the surface of the enzyme). The path of the backbone is easier to see in this <scene name='Chymotrypsin/Chymotrypsin_fold_rainbow/1'>backbone cartoon</scene>, which shows that chymotrypsin folds into two large beta sheets. | ||