Poliovirus-encoded proteinase 3C: a possible evolutionary link between cellular serine and cysteine proteinase families.

Here we demonstrate significant similarities between the amino acid sequences of trypsin (a serine protease) and the N-terminal piece of a specific fragment of the poliovirus polyprotein encompassing the sequence of the viral proteinase 3C, and also between cathepsin H (a cysteine protease) and the C-terminal piece of the same fragment. A coherent alignment of the sequences of the 3 proteases was obtained, in which the principal catalytically active residues occupy identical positions. A hypothesis is proposed that the viral enzyme may provide an evolutionary link between serine and cysteine protease families.