Aminopeptidase N

spinqualitylabelsall models The structure of human aminopeptidase N (PDB code 4fyq) Show:Asymmetric Unit Biological Assembly Drag the structure with the mouse to rotate   Export Animated Image   Print3D 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. 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. 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. It is also an enkephalinase, that is, it is an enzyme involved in the degradation of enkephalins, such as met-enkephalin and leu-enkephalin. 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) and the use of APN inhibitors has been proposed as a potential drug therapy for inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis. It is found in abundance in the central nervous system, liver, mucosal layer of the small intestine and kidneys. APN is inhibited by Ezetimibe which is used as high blood cholesterol medication.

Proteopedia Page Contributors and Editors (what is this?)

Brenton Horne, Michal Harel, Alexander Berchansky