Carboxypeptidases are enzymes which function in the digestion of short peptides known as oligopeptides in the small intestine. Oligopeptides contain between 10 to 50 amino acid residues.
The two carboxypeptidases A and B involved in the digestion of proteins in the small intestine are secreted by the exocrine glands of the pancreas.They are both zinc-containing enzymes which remove successive carboxyl-terminal (C-terminal) residues from oligopeptides until free amino acids are obtained.
Since they function in this way, they can be used to determine the entire sequence of short peptides or oligopeptides.
