Question

What biological functions do acid proteases (the large category of proteins including pepsin) have?

Answer 1

proteases are enzymes that catalyze the breakdown of proteins which is necessary for maintaining the cellular homeostasis. Active proteases can be found throughout your body, including the digestive tract, inside cells and circulating in the blood.

proteases catalyze proteolysis, breaks down a protein to its component amino acids which is an irreversible process. Proteolysis cleaves the peptide bonds between amino acids in proteins. Free amino acids and smaller protein fragments are the products of protease activity.

Functions:

proteases digest dietary proteins to allow absorption of amino acids in small intestine.

proteases also mediate blood coagulation, immune function, maturation of prohormones, bone formation, programmed cell death and the recycling of cellular proteins that are no longer needed.