Cathepsin B, His, Human

Cathepsin B is an enzymatic protein that is a member of the peptidase (or protease) family. Elevated lev- els of cathepsin B occur in a wide variety of disease,causing numerous pathologies including cell death, inflammation, and the production of toxic peptides. For example, neuroscience research suggests that cathepsin B plays a role in inducing epilepsy resulting in a significant amount of cell death. Seizure-induced rats treated with a cathepsin B inhibitor exhibited improved neurological scores and learning ability with reduced neuronal cell death.