Biochem/Physiol Actions | Preferential cleavage: hydrophobic and aromatic residues in P1 and P1′ postitions. Cleaves Phe-Val, Gln-His, Glu-Ala, Ala-Leu, Leu-Tyr, Tyr-Leu, Gly-Phe, Phe-Phe and Phe-Tyr bonds in the β chain of insulin Unlike many other peptidases, pepsin hydrolyzes only peptide bonds, not amide or ester ages. The cleavage specificity includes peptides with an aromatic acid on either side of the peptide bond, especially if the other residue is also an aromatic or a dicarboxylic amino acid. Increased susceptibility to hydrolysis occurs if there is a sulfur-containing amino acid close to the peptide bond, which has an aromatic amino acid. Pepsin will also preferentially cleave at the carboxyl side of phenylalanine and leucine, and to a lesser extent at the carboxyl side of glutamic acid residues. It does not cleave at valine, alanine, or glycine ages. Z-L-tyrosyl-L-phenylalanine, Z-L-glutamyl-L-tyrosine, or Z-L-methionyl-L-tyrosine may be used as substrates for pepsin digestion. Pepsin is inhibited by several phenylalanine-containing peptides. |
Application | Pepsin cleavage can be used to produce F(ab′)2 fragments of antibodies. pepsin at www.sigma-aldrich.com/enzymeexplorer. Pepsin from Sigma has been used along with other enzymes for the determination of enzyme-resistant starch (RS) in bread. It has also been used to simulate in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of pea or whey protein isolates. Pepsin is a peptidase used to digest proteins and is commonly used in the preparation of Fab fragments from antibodies. Pepsin, from porcine gastric mucosa, has been used to hydrolyze dry cervical samples in mice. The product is provided as a lyophilized powder and has been used to digest protein during dietary fiber analysis. |
