Proenzyme

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  proenzyme \pro"en*zyme\, n. [.] (Bioch.)
     Any one of a class of proteins that are converted, in the
     normal course of cellular metabolism, into one or more active
     enzymes; also called {zymogen}. The conversion usually is due
     to a specific cleavage of a peptide bond by another enzyme,
     or may be due to acid.


     [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  proenzyme
       n : any of a group of compounds that are inactive precursors of
           enzymes and require some change (such as the hydrolysis
           of a fragment that masks an active enzyme) to become
           active [syn: {zymogen}]