The formation of most proteins consists of two steps: the synthesis of precursor proteins and the synthesis of functional proteins. In these processes, propeptides play important roles in assisting protein folding or inhibiting its activity. As an important polypeptide chain coded by a gene sequence in lipase gene, propeptide usually functions as an intramolecular chaperone, assisting enzyme molecule folding. Meanwhile, some specific sites on propeptide such as glycosylated sites, have important effect on the activity, stability in extreme environment, methanol resistance and the substrate specificity of the lipase. Studying the mechanism of propeptide-mediated protein folding, as well as the influence of propeptide on lipases, will allow to regulate lipase by alternating the propeptide folding behavior and in turn pave new ways for protein engineering research.
大多数蛋白质的形成过程主要由合成前体蛋白和合成功能蛋白两个步骤组成。在这个过程中，前导肽能够辅助蛋白质折叠或抑制它的活性。前导肽作为脂肪酶结构中重要的一段多肽链，通常作为分子内分子伴侣来辅助脂肪酶的折叠，同时该序列上包括糖基化位点在内的一些特殊位点，对酶的活性、极端环境稳定性、甲醇耐受性和底物特异性等性质具有重要影响。研究前导肽介导的蛋白折叠机制，以及前导肽对脂肪酶的作用和影响，可以实现通过改变前导肽来调控脂肪酶成熟肽性能的目的，进一步拓展蛋白质工程的研究。.
Keywords: disulfide bond; folding mechanism; glycosylation; lipase; propeptide.