Endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 2 is an

aminopeptidase Aminopeptidases are enzymes that catalyze the cleavage of amino acids from the amino terminus (N-terminus) of proteins or peptides (exopeptidases). They are widely distributed throughout the animal and plant kingdoms and are found in many subcell ...

in humans involved in antigen presentation. It is encoded by the ERAP2

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

Function

ERAP1 Type 1 tumor necrosis factor receptor shedding aminopeptidase regulator, also known as endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ARTS-1), is a protein which in humans is encoded by the ''ARTS-1'' gene. Endoplasmic reticulum amino peptidase 1 is act ...

and ERAP2 are Aminopeptidases, able to trim precursors to antigenic peptides in the

endoplasmic reticulum The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is, in essence, the transportation system of the eukaryotic cell, and has many other important functions such as protein folding. It is a type of organelle made up of two subunits – rough endoplasmic reticulum ( ...

. They hydrolyze

N-terminal The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the ami ...

amino acids of proteins or

peptide Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides. A ...

substrates so the Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I can present them to CD8+ T cells. ERAP2 plays a central role in

antigen presentation Antigen presentation is a vital immune process that is essential for T cell immune response triggering. Because T cells recognize only fragmented antigens displayed on cell surfaces, antigen processing must occur before the antigen fragment, now ...

and impacts the response of at least 4 cytokines: It is positively correlated with CCL3, which is involved in the recruitment of neutrophils upon infection, whereas it is inversely correlated with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor ,

interleukin-1β Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) also known as leukocytic pyrogen, leukocytic endogenous mediator, mononuclear cell factor, lymphocyte activating factor and other names, is a cytokine protein that in humans is encoded by the ''IL1B'' gene."Catabolin" ...

and IL-10.

Genetics

Mutations in the ERAP2

were found in DNA extracts derived from the skeletons of people who died shortly before, during or soon after the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

1348 in three London cemeteries, including

East Smithfield East Smithfield is a small locality in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, east London, and also a short street, a part of the A1203 road. Once broader in scope, the name came to apply to the part of the ancient parish of St Botolph without ...

plague cemetery and from Denmark. Per this study, carrying two protective versions of ERAP2 made people 40 percent likelier to survive a Yersinia pestis infection. However this version of the gene also increases the risk of

Crohn’s disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distension, ...

. There is evidence that the

shaped genetic diversity in Europe, in that people who had protective variant of the ERAP2 gene were much more likely to survive '' Yersinia pestis'' infection, the causitive agent of Black Death.

Function

Genetics

See also

References

Further reading