carboxypeptidase
- noun
- /kɑrˌbɑksoʊˈpɛptɪdeɪz/
- Specialized
:
carboxipeptidasa
- The carboxypeptidase is an important enzyme that helps digest proteins by removing amino acids from their ends.
Examples
-
The early structures for lysozyme, ribonuclease, carboxypeptidase, and chymotrypsin each provided critical insight into the mechanism of catalytic action.
Academic text (1995) -
Several sequence homologies between bovine β-casein and molecules expressed by β-cells have been identified, including p69 and carboxypeptidase, both suggested as autoantigens in IDDM.
Academic text (1999) -
In the laboratory, researchers use carboxypeptidase to study protein breakdown and its implications for nutrition.
-
The function of carboxypeptidase is crucial in the digestive process, as it efficiently releases amino acids from protein chains.
Surface Forms
Morphology
carboxypeptidase = peptidase (opaque) = carboxy + peptid + ase
Both elements are specialised biomedical combining forms (carboxy-, peptidase) that are unlikely to be understood by an average B1 learner, so the meaning is not derivable from common base words.
Etymology
Carboxypeptidase breaks into carboxy, meaning the 'carboxyl' or 'acid' end of a protein chain, and peptidase, where 'peptide' means a small protein and -ase means 'enzyme', like in lactase. So, a carboxypeptidase is an enzyme that removes amino acids from the 'carboxyl' end of a protein chain, which is why it helps break proteins into amino acids.
