| Modification Notes |
Peptidases are enzymes that are responsible for hydrolyzing peptide bonds of polypeptide chains during protein catabolism. Protease inhibitors are important peptidase regulators which halt enzymatic function. Serpins, the largest family of inhibitors, act through irreversible covalent linkage to the target peptidase, thereby competitively blocking the active site. WFDC5 (WAP four-disulfide core domain protein 5), also known as PRG5 or WAP1, is a secreted serpin inhibitor. WFDC5 contains two WAP motifs and is induced by p53/TP53. Two isoforms of WFDC5, at 224 and 123 amino acids in length, are encoded by a gene on human chromosome 20. WFDC5 is highly expressed in trachea, tongue and salivary glands. Comprising approximately 2% of the human genome, chromosome 20 contains nearly 63 million bases that encode over 600 genes, some of which are associated with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy, ring chromosome 20 epilepsy syndrome and Alagille syndrome. |
