An esterase is a hydrolase enzyme that splits esters into an acid and an alcohol in a chemical reaction with water called hydrolysis. A wide range of different esterases exist that differ in their substrate specificity, their protein structure, and their biological function.

List of esterases

• Lipase, splits fat and lipids into fatty acids and glycerol or other alcohols
  • Phospholipase (PL), hydrolyzes phospholipids
  • Lipoprotein lipase, hydrolyzes lipids in lipoproteins
  • Acid hydrolase (lysosomal acid lipase), found in lysozomes which are strongly acidic
• Acetylesterase, splits off acetyl groups
  • Cholinesterase
    • Acetylcholinesterase, inactivates the neurotransmitter acetylcholine
    • Pseudocholinesterase, broad substrate specificity, found in the blood plasma and in the liver
• Nuclease, cleave the phosphodiester bonds between the nucleotides of nucleic acids
  • Endonuclease, cleaves in the middle of the nucleic acid
  • Exonuclease, cleaves in the ends of the nucleic acid
  • Ribonuclease (RNase), cleaves RNA
    • RNase H
  • Deoxyribonuclease (DNase), cleaves RNA
    • Restriction enzyme
• Phosphatase, hydrolyses phosphoric acid monoesters into a phosphate ion and an alcohol
  • Alkaline phosphatase, removes phosphate groups from many types of molecules, including nucleotides, proteins, and alkaloids.
  • Phosphodiesterase (PDE), inactivates the second messenger cAMP
    • cGMP specific phosphodiesterase type 5, is inhibited by Sildenafil (Viagra)
• Fructose bisphosphatase, converts fructose-1,6-bisphosphate to fructose-6-phosphate in gluconeogenesis
• Thioesterase
  • Ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1
• Cholesterol esterase
• Pectinesterase, clarifies fruit juices
• Leukocyte esterase
• Hemagglutininesterase

EC classification

Esterases are classified as EC 3.1 in the EC number classification of enzymes. They are further subclassified into:

• EC 3.1.1: Carboxylic ester hydrolases
• EC 3.1.2: Thiolester hydrolases
• EC 3.1.3: Phosphoric monoester hydrolases
• EC 3.1.4: Phosphoric diester hydrolases
• EC 3.1.5: Triphosphoric monoester hydrolases
• EC 3.1.6: Sulfuric ester hydrolases (sulfatases)
• EC 3.1.7: Diphosphoric monoester hydrolases
• EC 3.1.8: Phosphoric triester hydrolases
• EC 3.1.11: Exodeoxyribonucleases producing 5'-phosphomonoesters
• EC 3.1.13: Exoribonucleases producing 5'-phosphomonoesters
• EC 3.1.14: Exoribonucleases producing 3'-phosphomonoesters
• EC 3.1.15: Exonucleases active with either ribo- or deoxyribonucleic acids and producing 5'-phosphomonoesters
• EC 3.1.16: Exonucleases active with either ribo- or deoxyribonucleic acids and producing 3'-phosphomonoesters
• EC 3.1.21: Endodeoxyribonucleases producing 5'-phosphomonoesters
• EC 3.1.22: Endodeoxyribonucleases producing 3'-phosphomonoesters
• EC 3.1.23: Site specific endodeoxyribonucleases: cleavage is sequence specific (discontinued)
• EC 3.1.24: Site specific endodeoxyribonucleases: cleavage is not sequence specific (discontinued)
• EC 3.1.25: Site-specific endodeoxyribonucleases specific for altered bases
• EC 3.1.26: Endoribonucleases producing 5'-phosphomonoesters
• EC 3.1.27: Endoribonucleases producing 3'-phosphomonoesters
• EC 3.1.30: Endoribonucleases active with either ribo- or deoxyribonucleic acids and producing 5'-phosphomonoesters
• EC 3.1.31: Endoribonucleases active with either ribo- or deoxyribonucleic acids and producing 3'-phosphomonoesters

External links

• Enzyme nomenclature

See also

• Enzyme
• List of enzymes
• Carboxylic acid
• Ester

Hydrolases | EC 3.1

Esterase | Эстераза