Tryptase Delta 1 (TPSd1)

Tryptases comprise a family of trypsin-like serine proteases, the peptidase family S1. Tryptases are enzymatically active only as heparin-stabilized tetramers, and they are resistant to all known endogenous proteinase inhibitors. Several tryptase genes are clustered on chromosome 16p13.3. Although this gene may be an exception, most of the tryptase genes have an intron immediately upstream of the initiator Met codon, which separates the site of transcription initiation from protein coding sequence. TPSD1 is characteristic of tryptases but is unusual in other genes. Tryptases have been implicated as mediators in the pathogenesis of asthma and other allergic and inflammatory disorders. This gene was once considered to be a pseudogene, although it is now believed to be a functional gene that encodes a protein.