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Official Full Name: cathepsin S<br />The preproprotein encoded by this gene is a member of the peptidase C1 family, a lysosomal cysteine protease involved in the degradation of antigenic proteins into polypeptides and presentation on MHC class II molecules. The mature protein cleaves the invariant chain of the MHC class II molecule in the endolysosomal compartment, allowing antigen-MHC class II complex formation and allowing MHC-II to properly display extracellular antigenic peptides. The mature protein also functions as elastase over a wide pH range. When secreted from cells, this protein remodels components of the extracellular matrix such as elastin, collagen, and fibronectin. This gene has been implicated in the pathology of many inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and plays an important role in some lung diseases due to its elastase activity. Alternative splice transcript variants of this gene have been found to encode distinct isoforms.