Function
Trypsin in the duodenum catalyses the hydrolysis of peptide bonds so that proteins can be broken down into smaller peptides. These peptides may then be further hydrolysed into amino acids by other proteases before they enter the blood stream. Tryptic digest is a necessary step in protein absorption because proteins are generally too big to be absorbed through the lining of the small intestine.
Trypsin is produced in the pancreas in the form of the inactive zymogen trypsinogen. When the pancreas is stimulated by cholecystokinin, it is then secreted into the first part of the small intestine (the duodenum) via the pancreatic duct. Once in the small intestine, the enzyme enteropeptidase activates it into trypsin by proteolytic cleavage. Trypsin can then function to activate additional trypsinogen (autocatalysis), so only a small amount of enteropeptidase is necessary to start the reaction. This activation mechanism is common for most serine proteases, and serves to prevent autodegradation of the pancreas.
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Famous quotes containing the word function:
“The intension of a proposition comprises whatever the proposition entails: and it includes nothing else.... The connotation or intension of a function comprises all that attribution of this predicate to anything entails as also predicable to that thing.”
—Clarence Lewis (1883–1964)
“The information links are like nerves that pervade and help to animate the human organism. The sensors and monitors are analogous to the human senses that put us in touch with the world. Data bases correspond to memory; the information processors perform the function of human reasoning and comprehension. Once the postmodern infrastructure is reasonably integrated, it will greatly exceed human intelligence in reach, acuity, capacity, and precision.”
—Albert Borgman, U.S. educator, author. Crossing the Postmodern Divide, ch. 4, University of Chicago Press (1992)
“Uses are always much broader than functions, and usually far less contentious. The word function carries overtones of purpose and propriety, of concern with why something was developed rather than with how it has actually been found useful. The function of automobiles is to transport people and objects, but they are used for a variety of other purposes—as homes, offices, bedrooms, henhouses, jetties, breakwaters, even offensive weapons.”
—Frank Smith (b. 1928)