Thymus-specific serine protease (PRSS16)

Thymus-specific serine protease (PRSS16, TSSP) is an enzyme encoded by the PRSS16 gene, expressed exclusively in cortical thymic epithelial cells. It is involved in the processing of peptide antigens during positive selection of T-cells, possibly by editing C-terminal residues of peptides presented by MHC class II molecules, thereby influencing T-cell repertoire. The gene is located near the MHC Class I region on chromosome 6, a locus implicated in susceptibility to autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes. However, knockout models indicate that loss of PRSS16 does not impact overall T-cell development or MHC class II surface expression, suggesting its functional role may be subtle and context-dependent, affecting specific peptide antigen editing and T-cell subsets.

Other names

PRSS16TSSPserine protease 16protease, serine 16thymus-specific serine proteasethymus-specific serine peptidase