1.
[syn: proenzyme, zymogen]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
proenzyme \pro"en*zyme\, n. [.] (Bioch.)
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]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
proenzyme
n 1: 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
[syn: proenzyme, zymogen]