Visceral hypersensitivity in inflammatory bowel diseases and irritable bowel syndrome: The role of proteases

Figure 1 Simplified representation of the concept of endo- and exopeptidases. Endopeptidases cleave internal peptide bonds. Exopeptidases cleave terminal peptide bonds; they can be subdivided into amino- and carboxypeptidases according to the position of the cleavage of the peptide bond. Aminopeptidases cleave at amino (NH₂) terminal bonds, while carboxypeptidases cleave at carboxy (COOH) terminal bonds. Image constructed using the Servier Image Bank.