Chymases (, mast cell protease 1, skeletal muscle protease, skin chymotryptic proteinase, mast cell serine proteinase, skeletal muscle protease) are a family of
serine protease
Serine proteases (or serine endopeptidases) are enzymes that cleave peptide bonds in proteins. Serine serves as the nucleophilic amino acid at the (enzyme's) active site.
They are found ubiquitously in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. S ...
s found primarily in
mast cell
A mast cell (also known as a mastocyte or a labrocyte) is a resident cell of connective tissue that contains many granules rich in histamine and heparin. Specifically, it is a type of granulocyte derived from the myeloid stem cell that is a pa ...
s, though also present in
basophil granulocytes (e.g. alpha chymase mcpt8). Recently, Derakhshan et al. reported that a specific mast cell population expressed trascripts for Mcpt8. They show broad peptidolytic activity and are involved in a variety of functions. For example, chymases are released by connective tissue-type mast cells upon challenge with
parasites and parasite
antigens promoting an inflammatory response, and chymase mcp1 and mcp2 are used for marker for mast cell degranulation in parasite infection such as
Nematode,
Trichuris muris Chymases are also known to convert
angiotensin I to angiotensin II and thus play a role in
hypertension and
atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis in which the wall of the artery develops abnormalities, called lesions. These lesions may lead to narrowing due to the buildup of atheromatous plaque. At onset there are usually ...
.
Because of its role in inflammation it has been investigated as a target in the treatment of asthma.
References
EC 3.4.21
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