Poole Catherine B, Jin Jingmin, McReynolds Larry A
New England Biolabs, 240 County Road, Ipswich, MA 01938, USA.
Mol Biochem Parasitol. 2007 Sep;155(1):1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2007.05.001. Epub 2007 May 6.
Cleavage by subtilisin-like proteases (subtilases) is an essential step in post-translational processing of proteins found in organisms ranging from yeast to mammals. Our knowledge of the diversity of this protease family in nematodes is aided by the rapid increase in sequence information, especially from the Brugia malayi genome project. Genetic studies of the subtilases in Caenorhabitis elegans give valuable insight into the biological function of these proteases in other nematode species. In this review, we focus on the subtilases in filarial nematodes as well as other parasitic and free-living nematodes in comparison to what is known in C. elegans. Topics to be addressed include expansion and diversity of the subtilase gene family during evolution, enhanced complexity created by alternative RNA splicing, molecular and biochemical characterization of the different subtilases and the challenges of designing subtilase-specific inhibitors for parasitic nematodes.
枯草杆菌蛋白酶样蛋白酶（枯草杆菌蛋白酶）的切割是从酵母到哺乳动物等生物体中蛋白质翻译后加工的关键步骤。线虫中该蛋白酶家族的序列信息迅速增加，尤其是来自马来布鲁线虫基因组计划的信息，这有助于我们了解其多样性。秀丽隐杆线虫中枯草杆菌蛋白酶的遗传学研究为深入了解这些蛋白酶在其他线虫物种中的生物学功能提供了有价值的见解。在这篇综述中，我们将丝状线虫以及其他寄生和自由生活线虫中的枯草杆菌蛋白酶与秀丽隐杆线虫中的已知情况进行比较。讨论的主题包括进化过程中枯草杆菌蛋白酶基因家族的扩展和多样性、由可变RNA剪接产生的复杂性增加、不同枯草杆菌蛋白酶的分子和生化特性，以及设计针对寄生线虫的枯草杆菌蛋白酶特异性抑制剂所面临的挑战。
