proenzyme

POS

Noun

HYPHEN

pro=en=zyme

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WORDNET DICTIONARY

Noun proenzyme has 1 sense

proenzyme(n = noun.substance) zymogen - any of a group of compounds that are inactive precursors of enzymes and require some change (such as the hydrolysis of a fragment that masks an active enzyme) to become active;

is a kind of organic compound

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CIDE DICTIONARY

proenzyme, n. [.].

Any one of a class of proteins that are converted, in the normal course of cellular metabolism, into one or more active enzymes; also called zymogen. The conversion usually is due to a specific cleavage of a peptide bond by another enzyme, or may be due to acid. [PJC]