What is the Difference Between Protease and Peptidase?

Proteases and peptidases are both types of enzymes that break down peptide bonds in proteins, playing essential roles in protein activation, cell regulation, signaling, and the generation of amino acids for protein synthesis or utilization in other metabolic pathways. However, there are some differences between them:

• Substrate: Proteases cleave longer peptides and proteins, while peptidases cleave shorter peptides.
• Cleavage Type: Proteases can be classified as endopeptidases, which hydrolyze internal peptide bonds, or exopeptidases, which hydrolyze amino acid residues at the end of a polypeptide. Peptidases, on the other hand, are only exopeptidases.

Some common examples of proteases include trypsin, papain, pepsin, elastase, and chymotrypsin. Examples of peptidases include carboxypeptidase A and aminopeptidases.

Comparative Table: Protease vs Peptidase

Here is a table summarizing the differences between protease and peptidase:

Both protease and peptidase are proteolytic enzymes that participate in the degradation of proteins. Proteases can be either endopeptidases or exopeptidases, while peptidases are only exopeptidases. Proteases have an affinity for intact proteins, while peptidases have an affinity for small peptides.