Definition of "peptidase" []

• An enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of peptides into amino acids. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "CD26/dipeptidyl peptidase IV: A regulator of immune function and a potential molecular target for therapy."
• "University, who worked at that time on translocation of proteins across the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, a process that involves cleavage of the leader peptide by signal peptidase, to Jeffrey Roberts in Cornell University who worked on E. coli RecA protein-directed cleavage of phage l repressor and its requirement for polynucleotide, and to Harvey Lodish at the M.I.T. who worked, among other subjects, on processing of viral polyproteins."
• "Recent comments by Dr. Daniel Drucker, a professor at the University of Toronto and leader in diabetes and endocrinology, suggested dipeptidyl peptidase agents such as those being developed by Merck and Novartis have potential as effective second-line treatments for type 2 diabetes, according to Morgan Stanley."