Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Proteases

Proteases are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of peptide bonds, cleaving proteins and peptides into smaller fragments or single amino acids. They are classified by the catalytic residue or mechanism at their active site into serine, cysteine, aspartic, threonine, and metalloproteases, and by whether they cleave…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 9 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 53× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 3144-7015

Overview

Proteases are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of peptide bonds, cleaving proteins and peptides into smaller fragments or single amino acids. They are classified by the catalytic residue or mechanism at their active site into serine, cysteine, aspartic, threonine, and metalloproteases, and by whether they cleave internal bonds, as endopeptidases, or remove terminal residues, as exopeptidases. Far from simple degradative enzymes, proteases regulate biology through precise, often irreversible cleavage events. They drive digestion, activate and inactivate hormones and signaling molecules, control the blood coagulation cascade through sequential activation of clotting factors, mediate immune responses, and remodel the extracellular matrix during tissue repair and wound healing. Their activity is tightly regulated by zymogen activation, inhibitors, and compartmentalization, because uncontrolled proteolysis is damaging; imbalance between proteases and their inhibitors contributes to impaired wound healing, bleeding and clotting disorders, and disease progression. Proteomic methods are used to catalogue proteases and their substrates and to study their roles in health and disease. Beyond physiology, proteases have wide industrial and therapeutic applications, from food and detergent processing to pharmaceuticals. Research in this area addresses protease function in coagulation and wound repair, proteomic characterization of proteins and their processing, and the regulation of proteolytic activity in normal and pathological states.

Research published in this journal

9 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

How this research is being cited

The 9 articles above have been cited 53 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Nov 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Proteases, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in Journal of Peptides (ISSN 3144-7015).

Journal editorial board
Fernando Albericio · South Africa AbdulMuhsin Shami · Iraq Ailton Lemes · Brazil

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.