Serine hydrolase

The serine hydrolase superfamily is one of the largest known enzyme families comprising approximately 1% of the genes in the human genome. This family includes:

* serine proteases like trypsin
* lipases like pancreatic lipase, hormone sensitive lipase, and triacylglycerol lipase
* esterases
* acetylcholinesterase
* thioesterases
* certain phospholipases like phospholipase A2
* some amidases like fatty acid amide hydrolase

all of these enzymes share a catalytic mechanism that involves a catalytic triad consisting of a serine nucleophile that is activated by a proton relay involving an acidic residue (e.g. aspartate or glutamate) and a basic residue (usually histidine) although variations on this mechanism exist.

See also

* Enzyme
* List of enzymes
* Ester
* Amide
* Thioester
* Activity based proteomics