pro·en·zyme

(prō-ĕn′zīm′)

The inactive or nearly inactive precursor of an enzyme, converted into an active enzyme by proteolysis. Also called zymogen.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

proenzyme

(prəʊˈɛnzaɪm)

(Biochemistry) the inactive form of an enzyme; zymogen

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

zy•mo•gen

(ˈzaɪ mə dʒən, -ˌdʒɛn)

n.

any of various enzyme precursor molecules that may change into an enzyme as a result of catalytic change. Also called proenzyme.

[< German (1875); see zymo-, -gen]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

proenzyme - any of a group of compounds that are inactive precursors of enzymes and require some change (such as the hydrolysis of a fragment that masks an active enzyme) to become active

zymogen

organic compound - any compound of carbon and another element or a radical

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References in periodicals archive

The conversion of the proenzyme to the active form is an extensively studied system of enzymatic checks and balances known as the phenoloxidase cascade that closely regulates the release and activation of phenoloxidase at the appropriate time and place (Ashida and Yamazaki, 1990; Sugumaran and Kanost, 1993; Soderhall and Cerenius, 1998).

Functional and phylogenetic analyses of phenoloxidases from brachyuran (Cancer magister) and branchiopod (Artemia franciscana, Triops longicaudatus) crustaceans

Proenzyme prostate specific antigen (pPSA) does a better job of detecting prostate cancer and helping prevent unnecessary biopsies than free PSA (fPSA) does, according to the results of a preliminary study reported in the February issue of Urology.

pPSA improves prostate cancer detection. (Lab Tests)

Upon binding to these negatively charged structures, the zymogen FXII undergoes a conformational change that endows the unstable proenzyme with limited enzymatic activity.

Ecotin-like ISP of L. major promastigotes fine-tunes macrophage phagocytosis by limiting the pericellular release of bradykinin from surface-bound kininogens: a survival strategy based on the silencing of proinflammatory G-protein coupled kinin [B.sub.2] and [B.sub.1] receptors

Becker had recently discovered that the first component (C1), subsequently identified as subunit C1q, was a protease proenzyme that was activated by contact with antigen-antibody complexes.

My career as an immunoglycobiologist

Caspase-3 is synthesized as inactive proenzyme, where upon cleavage at Asp175/Ser176, is converted to the active enzyme.

[alpha]-Santalol, a derivative of sandalwood oil, induces apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells by causing caspase-3 activation

Activation of the proenzyme involves proteolytic removal of the N-terminal proregion containing the cysteine switch motif conserved in matrix metalloproteinases (18).

Identification of pro-MMP-7 as a serum marker for renal cell carcinoma by use of proteomic analysis

Evidence that cathepsin L-like proteinase is stored as a latent, acid-activable proenzyme. Arch.

Synthesis of a high-density lipoprotein in the developing blue crab. (Callinectes Sapidus)

It is a cytosolic protein as an inactive 32-kDa proenzyme and is activated by proteolytic cleavage into the 20 kDa (p20) and 11 kDa (p11) active subunits.

Protective effect of a standardized Ginkgo extract (ginaton) on renal ischemia/reperfusion injury via suppressing the activation of JNK signal pathway

The protease to be measured converts a proenzyme into an active enzyme (detection enzyme), and the activity of the latter is detected (Fig.

Detection of a soluble form of BACE-1 in human cerebrospinal fluid by a sensitive activity assay