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Home Q & A Board Biology-Related Homework Help Biochemistry
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smnam smnam
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11 years ago
How does pepsin function in such acidic conditions (stomach)? Most enzymes tend to funtion best in pH neutral conditions and become denatured (H-bonds broken,etc.) at pH extremes. How do enzymes (pepsin in particular) function in the acidic conditions of the stomach - why does it not become denatured?
Hmmm... I understand the information given but it doesnt really explain why it is not denatured by the HCl. Any other ideas?

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#1
11 years ago
Pepsin is stored as pepsinogen so it will only be released when needed, and does not digest the body's own proteins in the stomach's lining.
Pepsin functions best in acidic environments, particularly those in a pH of 3.
The hormone gastrin and the vagus nerve trigger the release of both pepsinogen and HCl from the stomach lining when food is ingested. HCl creates an acidic environment which allows pepsinogen to unfold and cleave itself in an autocatalytic fashion, thereby generating pepsin (the active form).
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