Main proteases with their cleavage site and proteolytic mechanism

ProteasesECProteolytic mechanismCleavage site
Asn lyases*4.3.2Elimination reactionAsn-Ala bond
Aspartic peptidases3.4.23Acid-baseCys
Cys peptidases3.4.22CatalyticC-terminal Asn
Glutamate peptidases*3.4.23HydrolysisNAA-Glu
Metallopeptidades3.4.24CatalyticMetal-binding residues (i.e. His, Glu, Asp)
Serine peptidases3.4.21Acyl-enzyme intermediateAromatic amino acids (i.e. Phe-Thr, Tyr-Ser)
Threonine peptidases3.4.25N-terminus hydrolysisN-terminal Met

* At present not found in mammals (isolated from fungal and bacterial sources). EC: enzymatic class; NAA: N-acetyl aspartate; Asn: asparagine; Ala: alanine; Cys: cysteine; Glu: glutamic acid; His: histidine; Asp: aspartic acid; Phe: phenylalanine; Thr: threonine; Tyr: tyrosine