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Updated: May 21, 2026
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Detection of Protease Activity by Fluorescent Peptide Zymography
Published on: January 20, 2019
Solid-Phase Synthesis of ProTide Fluorogenic Probes Enables Systematic Profiling of Carboxypeptidase Activity.
Toru Komatsu1, Mayano Minoda1,2, Takako Uchida1
1Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|May 19, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed new fluorogenic probes to measure carboxypeptidase activity in blood. Elevated activities were found in pancreatic cancer (PC) patients, suggesting a potential diagnostic marker.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Chemical Biology
- Enzymology
Background:
- Carboxypeptidases are crucial in various biological processes.
- Assessing carboxypeptidase activity in complex samples is difficult.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for systematic profiling of carboxypeptidase activities.
- To identify potential biomarkers for pancreatic cancer (PC).
Main Methods:
- Solid-phase synthesis of fluorogenic ProTide-based probes.
- Modular synthesis of dipeptide-fluorophore conjugates.
- Single-molecule enzyme activity assays for ultrasensitive detection.
Main Results:
- Developed a probe set revealing distinct substrate preferences for carboxypeptidases.
- Detected circulating carboxypeptidase activity in human blood.
- Found elevated specific carboxypeptidase activities in pancreatic cancer patients compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- Established a scalable chemical strategy for activity-based exopeptidase profiling.
- Circulating carboxypeptidase activity serves as a functional enzymatic signature for PC.
- This platform offers potential for early cancer detection.
