The active groups of pepsin

✍ Scribed by Herriott, Roger M.

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1956
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 238 KB
• Volume: 47
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0095-9898
• DOI: 10.1002/jcp.1030470417

✦ Synopsis

Pepsin is of interest for many reasons, but attention is directed here to it as representing those enzymes that probably contain no prosthetic (nonamino acid) groups. Its proteolytic activity must, therefore, be attributed to the arrangement of its amino acids in the peptide chain and/or to the folding of the chain into a specific structure. This specific folding needs emphasis for denaturation of the protein, which involves an unfolding and not a change in amino acid arrangement and is accompanied by a complete destruction of the peptic activity. Dr. Perlmann's interesting results ( '54) require special consideration and are considered by her elsewhere in this symposium.