When Does Pepsinogen Become Pepsin?

Pepsin's proenzyme, pepsinogen, is released by the gastric chief cells in the stomach wall, and upon mixing with the hydrochloric acid of the gastric juice

gastric juice
Gastric acid, gastric juice, or stomach acid, is a digestive fluid formed within the stomach lining. With a pH between 1 and 3, gastric acid plays a key role in digestion of proteins by activating digestive enzymes, which together break down the long chains of amino acids of proteins.
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, pepsinogen activates to become pepsin.

What is the relationship between pepsinogen and pepsin?

Pepsin refers to the chief digestive enzyme in the stomach, which breaks down proteins into polypeptides, while pepsinogen refers to the substance which is secreted by the stomach wall and converted into the enzyme pepsin by gastric acid.

Why pepsin is active at pH 2?

The reason pepsin functions best at pH 2 is because the carboxylic acid group on the amino acid in the enzyme's active site must be in its protonated state, meaning bound to a hydrogen atom. At low pH the carboxylic acid group is protonated, which allows it to catalyze the chemical reaction of breaking chemical bonds.

James H. Sterling

James H. Sterling

Environmental Science & Climate Journalist

James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.