Dipeptidyl peptidase 8 is an

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...

that in humans is encoded by the ''DPP8''

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

. This gene encodes a member of the

peptidase A protease (also called a peptidase, proteinase, or proteolytic enzyme) is an enzyme that catalyzes (increases reaction rate or "speeds up") proteolysis, breaking down proteins into smaller polypeptides or single amino acids, and spurring the fo ...

S9B family, a small family of dipeptidyl peptidases that are able to cleave peptide substrates at a

prolyl Proline (symbol Pro or P) is an organic acid classed as a proteinogenic amino acid (used in the biosynthesis of proteins), although it does not contain the amino group but is rather a secondary amine. The secondary amine nitrogen is in the prot ...

bond. The encoded protein shares similarity with

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4), also known as adenosine deaminase complexing protein 2 or CD26 (cluster of differentiation 26) is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the ''DPP4'' gene. DPP4 is related to FAP, DPP8, and DPP9. The enzyme was d ...

in that it is ubiquitously expressed, and

hydrolyzes Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water is the nucleophile. Biological hydrolysis ...

the same substrates. These similarities suggest that, like dipeptidyl peptidase IV, this protein may play a role in

T-cell A T cell is a type of lymphocyte. T cells are one of the important white blood cells of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell rec ...

activation and immune function. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different

isoforms A protein isoform, or "protein variant", is a member of a set of highly similar proteins that originate from a single gene or gene family and are the result of genetic differences. While many perform the same or similar biological roles, some isof ...

have been described. A relatively specific inhibitor of DPP8 and

DPP9 Dipeptidyl peptidase 9 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''DPP9'' gene. This gene encodes a protein that is a member of the S9B family in clan SC of the serine proteases. The protein has been shown to have post-proline dipeptidyl amin ...

, Val-boroPro -, leads to increased activation of the

inflammasome Inflammasomes are cytosolic multiprotein oligomers of the innate immune system responsible for the activation of inflammatory responses. Activation and assembly of the inflammasome promotes proteolytic cleavage, maturation and secretion of pro-in ...

though both NLRBP1 and

CARD8 Caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 8 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''CARD8'' gene. Function Caspase recruitment domain (CARD)-containing proteins, such as CARD8, are involved in pathways leading to activation of casp ...

and can trigger

pyroptosis Pyroptosis is a highly inflammatory form of Lysis, lytic programmed cell death that occurs most frequently upon infection with intracellular pathogens and is likely to form part of the antimicrobial response. This process promotes the rapid clearanc ...

References

;Notes ;Further reading * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{gene-15-stub