Finding, Purification And Characterization Of Natural Protease Inhibitors

Abstract

Abstract The activity of a proteolytic enzyme in a living organism is precisely regulated by synthesis and secretion of the enzyme, by zymogen activation and frequently by inhibition. Although some proteinase activities may be limited by very restricted substrate selectivity, or by specific cellular location {e.g. on the cell surface), most proteases are regulated by endogenous inhibitors. Thus, to understand the biological regulation of proteolysis, one must understand the role of endogenous inhibitors. In this chapter, we describe general approaches of how to discover, purify, and characterize endogenous protease inhibitors.