Serpin E3 (SERPINE3)

SERPINE3 belongs to the serpin family. Serpins are a group of proteins with similar structures that were first identified as a set of proteins able to inhibit proteases. The acronym serpin was originally coined because many serpins inhibit chymotrypsin-like serine proteases.Structural biology has played a central role in the understanding of serpin function and biology. Over eighty serpin structures, in a variety of different conformations, have been determined to date. Although the function of serpins varies widely, these molecules all share a common structure.Serpins also possess an exposed region termed the reactive centre loop (RCL) that, in inhibitory molecules, includes the specificity determining region and forms the initial interaction with the target protease. In antitrypsin, the RCL is held at the top of the molecule and is not pre-inserted into the A β-sheet .