Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
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The members of the proprotein convertase family play a central role in the processing and/or activation of various protein precursors involved in many physiological processes and various pathologies. The proteolysis of these precursors that occur at basic residues within the general motif (K/R)-(X)-(K/R) is mediated by the proprotein convertases PC1/3, PC2, Furin, PACE4, PC4, PC5 and PC7, whereas the proteolysis of precursors within hydophobic residues performed by the convertase S1P/SKI-1 and the convertase NARC-1/PCSK9 seems to prefer cleavages at the motif LVFAQSIP. Here we provide a comprehensive overview of their remarkable complex roles as revealed by disruption of their genes individually using generalized or conditional approaches.