Cathepsin B

Cathepsin B (CTSB) is also known as APP secretase (APPS) and CPSB, is an enzymatic protein belonging to the peptidase C1 family. Cathepsin B / CTSB is synthesized as a preproenzyme. Following removal of the signal peptide, the inactive proenzyme undergoes further modifications including removal of the pro region to result in the active enzyme. The catalytic activity of Cathepsin B / APPS contains: Hydrolysis of proteins with broad specificity for peptide bonds; Preferentially cleaves -Arg-Arg-|-Xaa bonds in small molecule substrates (thus differing from cathepsin L); In addition to being an endopeptidase, shows peptidyl-dipeptidase activity, liberating C-terminal dipeptides. As a thiol protease, cathepsin B / CPSB is believed to participate in intracellular degradation and turnover of proteins and has also been implicated in tumor invasion and metastasis. Overexpression of cathepsin B has been associated with esophageal adenocarcinoma and other tumors.