Structure and Function of Proline Endopeptidase

这项研究旨在确定脯氨酸内肽酶的结构，这是一种普遍存在的细胞成分。由于丙基残基具有破坏α螺旋的特性，这种酶在蛋白质的分解中起着独特的作用。这种酶的一种形式是膜结合的，并在从脊椎动物大脑中分离出来的突触体中积累。因此，这种酶可能在神经组织中的蛋白质分解中起着特殊的作用。本项目的目的是：1)通过分离和序列分析确定酶的结构；2)确定对酶活性至关重要的特定残基，3)确定哪些因素参与了健康介导的酶以无活性形式的转化。

This research is designed to determine the structure of the enzyme proline endopeptidase, an ubiquitous cell constituent. The enzyme plays a unique role in the breakdown of proteins due to the special feature of the propyl residues which have the properties of breaking alpha helices. One form of this enzyme is membrane bound and accumulates in synaptosomes isolated from vertebrate brain. It is possible, therefore, that the enzyme has a particular role in protein breakdown in the nervous tissue. The goals of this project are as follows: 1) to determine the structure of the enzyme through isolation and sequence analysis; 2) to identify the specific residues which are critical for enzymatic activity and 3) determine which factors are involved in the heath-mediated conversion of the enzyme in an inactive form.