View source for Aminopeptidase N

<StructureSection load='4fyq' size='340' side='right' caption='The structure of human aminopeptidase N (PDB code [[4fyq]])' scene=''>
'''Aminopeptidase N''' (APN; CD13) is a zinc-dependent integral ectopeptidase composed of 967 amino acids, with a molecular mass of 160 kDa that cleaves neutral amino acids from the N-terminal of peptides.<ref name = cancer>PMID: 21619485</ref><ref>DOI: 10.1002/med.20044</ref> It has been implicated in coronovirus invasion of cells of the respiratory tract, cardiovascular disease, diabetic nephropathy, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and numerous cancers.<ref name = cancer/><ref name = currmed>PMID: 15992355</ref><ref>PMID: 24762977</ref> Its expression in cancer cells has been associated with more aggressive phenotypes and a role for it has been determined in: leukaemia, breast cancer, colon cancer, stomach cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, kidney cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer and thryoid cancer.<ref name = cancer/> It is also an enkephalinase, that is, it is an enzyme involved in the degradation of enkephalins, such as met-enkephalin and leu-enkephalin.<ref>PMID: 18855623</ref> Additional roles in immunity have also been discovered (such as in the degradation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, [[interleukin]]-8 and N-formyl-methionine-leucine-phenylalanine and in the regulation of T cell function<ref>PMID: 10373632</ref>) and the use of APN inhibitors has been proposed as a potential drug therapy for inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis.<ref name = currmed/><ref>PMID: 18508466</ref> It is found in abundance in the central nervous system, liver, mucosal layer of the small intestine and kidneys.<ref>PMID: 18008160</ref><ref>DOI: 10.2174/092986707780059571‎</ref>

APN is inhibited by [[Ezetimibe]] which is used as high blood cholesterol medication.

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== References ==
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