Furin

Furin, (also known as PACE or Paired basic Amino acid Cleaving Enzyme) is a ubiquitous subtilisin-like proprotein convertase that in humans is encoded by the FURIN gene.  Substrates of furin include insulin-like growth factor receptor and blood clotting factors,  Furin plays a key role in embryogenesis, catalyzing hormones, growth factors receptors and extracellular matrix enzymes among others. In addition to its essential role in multiple signaling pathways, furin has been leveraged by multiple pathogens to enter cells including coronaviruses, HIV, Ebola, anthrax and avian influenza. Furin has also been shown to activate the HIV envelope glycoproteins gp160 and gp140.  Dysregulation of furin expression has been linked to cancer, and dementia, with high levels of furin in multiple cancer types correlated with increased aggressiveness.

Further reading

Van de Ven et al (1991) Furin: the prototype mammalian subtilisin-like proprotein-processing enzyme. Endoproteolytic cleavage at paired basic residues of proproteins of the eukaryotic secretory pathway. Enzyme 45(5-6):257 PMID: 1843280

Thomas (2002) Furin at the cutting edge: from protein traffic to embryogenesis and disease. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 3(10) 753 PMID: 12360192

Xia et al (2020) The role of furin cleavage site in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-mediated membrane fusion in the presence or absence of trypsin. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 5(1) 92 PMID: 32532959

Guide to pharmacology - Furin