DAP abstract

As a member of the M18 family of zinc metallopeptidase 2 molecules Aspartyl aminopeptidase is part of the basic protein degrading machinery of the cell. It cleaves Glu or Asp residues from the unblocked terminus of the cell and is distinct from Glutamyl aminopeptidase by having a preference for Aspartyl residues. This protein has a dodecameric tetrahedral structure similar to that of glutamyl aminopeptidase. It cleaves unblocked residues by allowing only unfolded proteins to pass through channels in the face of the tetrahedral structure to interact with the zinc catalytic centre. This protein has a high sequence conservation between organisms and is expressed at fairly even levels throughout mammalian tissue >0.1% confirming its importance as a basic metabolic cellular protein.