ABSTRACT
Enzymes play essential functional roles in many biological and physiological processes in all organisms (Koblinski et al. 2000; Frank and Hargreaves 2003). Proteolytic enzymes, also known as proteases, are enzymes that catalyze the breakdown of proteins by hydrolyzing their peptide bonds. is type of posttranslational regulation allows the cell to control the activation or inactivation of proteins. Because of the irreversibility of this process, as well as the importance of protease activity, an extensive regulatory network has evolved to ensure targeted spatial and temporal control of protease activity. Imbalance of this regulation is frequently associated with diverse diseases including cancer, inammation, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegeneration, as well as viral and bacterial infections. Consequently, many proteases have been identied as promising drug targets, while others have been evaluated for their potential as biomarkers for various diseases (Clardy and Walsh 2004).
