Cathepsin C

Function

Cathepsin C appears to be a central coordinator for activation of many serine proteases in immune/inflammatory cells.

Cathepsin C catalyses excision of dipeptides from the N-terminus of protein and peptide substrates, except if (i) the amino group of the N-terminus is blocked, (ii) the site of cleavage is on either side of a proline residue, (iii) the N-terminal residue is lysine or arginine, or (iv) the structure of the peptide or protein prevents further digestion from the N-terminus.

Inflammatory response

Particularly, it is involved in activation of neutrophil serine proteases (NSPs; i.e., cathepsin G, proteinase 3 and neutrophil elastase) as they are synthesised as inactive proenzymes during neutrophil maturation. Then, they are released during degranulation. Other enzymes activated by cathepsin C are: chymase and tryptase in mast cells and granzymes A and B, cathepsin G, and elastase in lymphocytes and natural killer cells (NK cells).

Overactivation of NSPs causes a cascade of processess that result in excessive lung inflammation and reduced pathogen clearance. They involve reduced secretion of antileukoproteinase, extracellular matrix degradation, activation of IL-1β, IL-8 and TNF-α as well as inhibition of alpha-1 antitrypsin, an enzyme involved in NSP degradation.

Structure

The cDNAs encoding rat, human, murine, bovine, dog and two Schistosome cathepsin Cs have been cloned and sequenced and show that the enzyme is highly conserved. The human and rat cathepsin C cDNAs encode precursors (prepro-cathepsin C) comprising signal peptides of 24 residues, pro-regions of 205 (rat cathepsin C) or 206 (human cathepsin C) residues and catalytic domains of 233 residues which contain the catalytic residues and are 30–40% identical to the mature amino acid sequences of papain and a number of other cathepsins including cathepsins, B, H, K, L, and S.

The translated prepro-cathepsin C is processed into the mature form by at least four cleavages of the polypeptide chain. The signal peptide is removed during translocation or secretion of the pro-enzyme (pro-cathepsin C) and a large N-terminal proregion fragment (also known as the exclusion domain), which is retained in the mature enzyme, is separated from the catalytic domain by excision of a minor C-terminal part of the pro-region, called the activation peptide. A heavy chain of about 164 residues and a light chain of about 69 residues are generated by cleavage of the catalytic domain.

Unlike the other members of the papain family, mature cathepsin C consists of four subunits, each composed of the N-terminal proregion fragment, the heavy chain and the light chain. Both the pro-region fragment and the heavy chain are glycosylated.

Clinical significance

Defects in the encoded protein have been shown to be a cause of Papillon-Lefevre disease, an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by palmoplantar keratosis and periodontitis.

Inhibition of DPP-I addresses the inflammatory response that is thought to be responsible for one of many aspects of degenerative lung diseases, including bronchiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and asthma-COPD overlap .

Brensocatib, a DPP-I inhibitor, was approved in 2025 by the FDA and the EMA to treat bronchiectasis.

References

References

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4. (2023-12-14). "Dipeptidyl peptidase 1 inhibition as a potential therapeutic approach in neutrophil-mediated inflammatory disease". Frontiers in Immunology.
5. (February 1993). "Generation of active myeloid and lymphoid granule serine proteases requires processing by the granule thiol protease dipeptidyl peptidase I.". Journal of Biological Chemistry.
6. (August 1998). "Cathepsin C from Schistosoma japonicum--cDNA encoding the preproenzyme and its phylogenetic relationships". European Journal of Biochemistry.
7. (July 1992). "The primary structure and tissue distribution of cathepsin C". Biological Chemistry Hoppe-Seyler.
8. (December 2001). "Structure of human dipeptidyl peptidase I (cathepsin C): exclusion domain added to an endopeptidase framework creates the machine for activation of granular serine proteases". The EMBO Journal.
9. (February 2006). "Description of two new cathepsin C gene mutations in patients with Papillon-Lefèvre syndrome". Journal of Periodontology.
10. (May 2006). "A family with Papillon-Lefevre syndrome reveals a requirement for cathepsin C in granzyme B activation and NK cell cytolytic activity". Blood.
11. (April 2025). "Dipeptidyl peptidase-1 inhibitors in bronchiectasis". European Respiratory Review.
12. (May 2025). "Exploring the roles of airway dipeptidyl peptidase 1 in obstructive airway disease". ERJ Open Research.
13. (2026-01-02). "Novel Drug Approvals for 2025". FDA.
14. (2025-10-17). "First treatment for serious chronic lung disease {{!}} European Medicines Agency (EMA)".