Enterokinase

enterokinase

[‚ent·ə·rō′kī‚nās]

(biochemistry)

An enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of trypsinogen to trypsin.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Enterokinase

 

a proteolytic enzyme of the class of endopeptidases. Enterokinase is a complex protein containing carbohydrates (glycoprotein). It has been discovered in man and some other mammals. The enzyme is secreted by cells of the mucosa of the duodenum into the lumen of the intestine, where it activates trypsinogen, which enters through the pancreatic duct. The enzyme trypsin thus formed activates trypsinogen and all the other proteolytic enzymes of pancreatic secretion. The direct participation of enterokinase in the digestion of food is insignificant, since only an extremely small quantity is present.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.