SYNONYMS
Pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, Basic protease inhibitor, BPI, BPTI, Aprotinin, AP.
INTRODUCTION
Aprotinin inhibits the activity of several proteolytic enzymes such as chymotrypsin, kallikrein, plasmin and trypsin. Aprotinin is present in blood and in most tissues, with a high concentration in lung. Aprotinin inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokine release and maintains glycoprotein homeostasis. In platelets, aprotinin reduces glycoprotein loss (e.g., GpIb, GpIIb/IIIa), while in granulocytes it prevents the expression of pro-inflammatory adhesive glycoproteins (e.g., CD11b).
DESCRIPTION
Aprotinin is a natural proteinase inhibitor polypeptide consisting of fifty-eight amino acids {C284H432N84O79S7} arranged in a single polypeptide chain, cross-linked by three disulfide bridges and having a molecular mass of 6512.
