What does PP mean in BRITISH MEDICINE

Protein Phosphatase works by binding to a specific protein and removing one or more of its phosphates, thus changing the activation state of the protein. This can lead to changes in cellular activity, such as altered gene expression, growth signaling and responses to stress.

Protein Phosphatases play vital roles in regulating several cellular processes such as cell cycle progression, development, apoptosis, signal transduction, and transcriptional regulation. Additionally, they also play roles in metabolic pathways which are important for energy utilization and metabolism control.

Protein Phosphatases play an important role in metabolism by helping regulate enzymes involved in intermediary metabolism. In particular, they help modulate activities of kinases which aid in critical metabolic processes such as glycolysis and gluconeogenesis.

An example of a type of Protein Phosphatases is Serine/Threonine-specific phosphatases (PP1/PP2). These are enzymes that specifically target Serine or Threonine residues on proteins for dephosphorylation.

In normal functioning cells, protein phosphataes help regulate cellular energetics by aiding processes such as histidine biosynthesis and oxidative respiration. Furthermore, they help maintain cellular integrity by preventing aberrant cell division caused by DNA damage or transformation events.

There are approximately 39 families known so far with nearly 400 different types of protein phosphataes that differ from one another based on their structure and specificity towards certain substrates.